Pruning Isn't Punishment

Every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit

(Matthew 12:6)

Until health prevented his doing so himself, one of the things my husband enjoyed was working in the garden and caring for the lawn.  The Japanese Yew bushes that he planted under our bay window 25 years ago grow rapidly and need attention from time to time. With the use of electric shears, they can be pruned to the desired shape and appropriate height for the area. 

One day as I watched this process I got to thinking how God uses the same method to direct the development of His children.  Tenderly, lovingly He shapes us to fit the surroundings into which He has planted us.  The trimming is not to punish us or discourage growth.  Rather it is to encourage growth in areas that are lacking or falling behind, causing us to become misshapen.

The yews cannot know how Bob wants our lawn to look. Neither can we see life from God’s viewpoint, nor can we understand all He has planned for us.  Therefore it is important to stay yielded to His superior knowledge.  Shrubs are not able to shape themselves; it takes someone with abilities they lack.  So we, left to our own devices, cannot achieve God’s desire for our lives.  It takes abilities and resources that only He possesses.

Due to the yews’ tenderness, it is not necessary to use heavy equipment to reshape them.  Likewise, when our hearts are tender and submissive, God’s tools are appropriate for the task.  Though we may feel the sting as we are being pruned, any damage that occurs will be the result of our stubborn resistance to His authority. 

As with any good gardener, God’s pruning always has a purpose.  With our compliance, He shapes thoughts, attitudes, words and actions so that we fit into His overall scheme of things and bear fruit by bringing peace, love, hope and joy into the world around us.  Remembering this as we experience the ups and downs of life will spare us the heartache and discouragement that come when we mistake His pruning shears for a rod of chastisement.

Trim my life, Lord, as You see fit; 

You are the Gardener in charge of it.

You have a plan I cannot see;

A shape and size You want it to be.

Trim off the limbs that interfere;

Help me to trust You without question or fear.