Pruning season

A while ago, it was pruning season in the valley, and I found myself wondering why there is a certain beauty to this time of year. At first glance, there are no flowers in sight — just dry sticks lying on the ground after being cut from the orchards and vineyards. So why does this season feel special? Maybe it’s the laborers coming together to work as a team, or the sight of branches getting a “fresh haircut.” Or perhaps it’s the hope of what is to come that makes pruning season so beautiful.

My dad often says that when life shakes you, like the wind shakes a tree, it reveals the fruit that the tree bears. Would the fruit be healthy and juicy, like the fruit of the Spirit? Or would anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, and jealousy come falling off instead?

It’s in the winds of life that the Lord wants to walk with us in the garden and show us the fruit we are bearing. If we are willing - as He always is - we can choose to let Him prune away what isn’t fruitful for His Kingdom, so that in due season we can bear fruit that blesses both ourselves and those around us.

For some time now, I’ve allowed the enemy to be a gardener in my life. I was feeding on past experiences and intimidation, which opened the door to fruits of anxiety, fear of the future, bitterness, and unforgiveness. The hardest part is seeing how those reactions affect the people closest to you.

But God…

“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)

It really comes down to this: in whom are we rooted? Our identity and confidence must flow from knowing who we are in Christ and walking in the authority that comes from Him.

Think of it like gardening. If you’re new to it, you slowly learn the names and traits of weeds. Once you recognize them, you spot them more quickly the next time they pop up. What if we were just as attentive to the weeds of our thought life? Wouldn’t we want to pull them out immediately, knowing the harm they cause — how they soak up all the water and rob life from what should be growing?

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

Here’s the sad truth: we often treat the symptoms instead of the root cause.

We scramble for water and quick fixes, while the passions and callings God once placed in our hearts slowly fade. Instead, we need to guard our thought life carefully. Don’t believe the lies spoken over you out of someone else’s hurt. Don’t let fear of man or intimidation take root. Recognize it early, and renounce it before it grows from a thought issue into a heart issue.

“But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:14 (NIV)

Let His living water flow through you. Let His truth about who you are in Christ wash away lies and offenses, softening hearts of stone into hearts of flesh — hearts He can use for His Kingdom and His glory (Ezekiel 36:26).

The Blood - Bethel Music, David Funk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogCQdTbig2E&list=RDogCQdTbig2E&start_radio=1