Pruning for Growth

Do you have any ornamental bushes outside your home? Did you know pruning will help maintain your plant’s shape, vigor, and health? Pruning, cutting away the dead or overgrown, works in your spiritual life too. Just as a gardener prunes plants to promote growth, God desires to work in your life, shaping and refining you.

Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

– John 15:2 ESV

In your walk with God, there are moments when He gently, yet decisively, prunes away aspects of your life that may hinder your growth. It might be habits, relationships, or attitudes that don’t bear good fruit. Although possibly painful, this process is done in love to foster a more prosperous, more fruitful spiritual life in you.

Pruning is necessary for healthier shape, vitality, and beauty.

This imagery of pruning before the harvest is a reminder that the most significant growth often follows a period of letting go, AND letting God be the Pruner in your life. You are called to trust in His divine process, knowing that what is removed makes room for new, abundant life.

Your part in allowing God to prune you requires you to see that letting go is not a loss but an opportunity for a closer relationship with Him. As you choose to surrender to God’s will, you come to understand that His ways are higher and His plans for you are filled with hope and promise.

Today’s One Thing

As you reflect on these truths, think of the areas in your life that may need pruning. Approach this with a heart open to God’s loving guidance. As you seek His direction, affirm in your heart: “I choose to let go and trust in God’s perfect plan, knowing that through His pruning, I am growing into a more fruitful, faithful follower of Christ.”

Go Deeper

Receive Devotionals like This in Your Email