Fall Is Pruning Season (John 15:2)

"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 15:2 (NIV)

There is a reason vinedressers in the Middle East prune in the cold months. The vine looks like it's losing. It looks bare, cut, smaller than it was last year.

But the pruner knows what's coming in the spring.

Jesus said it like this: every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Read that twice. Pruning is not what happens to the dead branches. Pruning is what happens to the fruitful ones.

If God is cutting something back in your life right now, it might not be punishment. It might be preparation. The fruit you are going to bear next year is being decided this fall.

Don't fight the shears. Open the hand. Let him cut back what he needs to cut back. He's the gardener. He has done this before.

Point of Reflection

Is there something God is pruning out of your life right now that you've been resisting because you thought it was loss?