Pruned by the Master Gardener

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season...Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:2-3 (NIV)

When I first moved into my house, there was a tree in my backyard that had been badly neglected by the previous owners. From a distance, it looked healthy and full, but as I examined the tree more closely, it looked like a bowl of spaghetti with branches intertwining, curving in and around and through other branches. It was so bad that some of them had begun to fuse together. If left untended, the tree’s overall growth potential would have been severely limited, if not suffocated altogether.

Pruning plants serves several purposes. It encourages a plants health by removing diseased branches; it directs the growth of a plant by removing undesired branches; it increases the quality and quantity of fruit that a plant produces and; when a plant is young, pruning can manipulate the position of its main branches to ensure it grows strong and healthy.

If we are to grow strong and healthy and yield fruit in our lives we must endure some pruning. Jesus said, I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1-2 (NIV) God’s desire is for our lives to bear fruit, which is produced by godly lives and character. We cannot bear fruit without being pruned by the Master Gardener. As we grow in our relationship with God, He will remove the diseased and dead areas of our lives; He will cut off the areas of our lives that bear no fruit; He will prune the branches that do bear fruit so that they will grow stronger and healthier; and He will manipulate us and shape us into the men and women that He desires us to become.

Jesus said in John 15:3-4 says, Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (NIV) Remain in constant fellowship with God. Seek his direction as you read your Bible each day and pray. As the Psalmist says…as you delight in the laws of the LORD, you will be like a tree planted by a stream…producing fruit and prospering in all you do. Pruning can sometimes be painful, but yielding to it will unleash our greatest growth potential.

Prayer Focus:
Invite God to begin pruning your life so that you may become stronger and healthier and bear more fruit as a result.

© 2009 by Stephanie French.