The Process Of Pruning - The One Year Women's Friendship Devotional

The Process of Pruning

Jesus replied, “[My Father] cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

John 15:2-4

I walked down the rural road near the house we rented in Maine. Everything was frozen. Bare trees stood stark against the white, snow-covered fields. The April sky was gray—again—and my soul felt as drained and gray as the sky. Would winter ever end?

Just then I noticed a rosebush that had been severely pruned, its branches covered with ice. That forlorn rosebush reminded me of our family. We’ve been pruned, too, I thought. We’ve lost everything financially because of the crash in the building industry; we’re two thousand miles from family and friends; we haven’t found a church to be involved in, and I feel disconnected and useless.

Then, into the midst of my thoughts, God seemed to whisper, Like the rosebush, you will bloom again and be fruitful if you sink your roots deep into me. This rosebush wasn’t cut back by accident. The gardener pruned it purposely so there would be abundant roses next summer. Trust me in this winter you’re in.

God did bring us through that long winter, and as we saw him provide again and again, our trust in him deepened. We grew a hardy endurance as Holmes worked an all-night job and I substituted at the high school by day and wrote magazine articles at night. By the next spring, although we still faced many difficulties, we were back home in Oklahoma. Eventually, my husband had construction projects again, and God opened new doors for me in ministry. Slowly, imperceptibly at first, the blooms began to appear. As surely as God had promised, spring did come again.

For all of us who belong to Christ, pruning is a part of growing in him and a means to greater fruitfulness. May we trust him in the times of pruning as well as when we bloom. —CHERI

Father, I choose to trust you in the times of pruning, knowing that your Word says pruning is an essential part of the growth process if I am to bear more fruit for you.

Growth is demanding and may seem dangerous, for there is loss as well as gain in growth. —MAY SARTON (1912–1995), AMERICAN POET AND NOVELIST