I heard and released these words from the Lord recently:
"I am the vine, and you are the branch. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit. As you connect with Me, like the branches to the vine, there will also come a time of pruning. But fear not the pruning, and despise not the pruning! For the pruning is not to harm you, but so that you will bear more fruit!"
'Pruning' is not a bad thing, or something that you should dread. If you understand this principle of pruning, and if you allow the Lord to do His pruning work in you, the next thing you'll see is fruitfulness.
As a matter of fact, when you abide in (or connect with) the Lord, there will always be occasions (or areas in your life) where He will prune you. It is in order to make you more effective in life (or ministry).
In John 15:1-2, Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit."
And then in John 15:4-5, Jesus says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."
The word 'abide' here is 'meno' in Greek, which can mean 'to connect, to stay, to remain, to endure, to dwell, to continue, to be present'.
The vine is a climbing plant in the grape family, and the vinedresser is someone who cultivates the vineyard.
The word 'takes away' here is 'airo' in Greek, and in this context, means 'to put away (from its initial position), to lift up, to bear up'. Psalm 3:3 says, 'But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory and the One who lifts up my head'. He is the One who lifts up your head when you are down.
The word 'prunes' here is 'kathairo' in Greek, literally meaning 'to cleanse, to purge', from the word 'katharos', which means 'clean, clear, pure'. As you can see here, 'pruning' is good for you, because it clears you from any hindrance to your fruitfulness in life!
To understand 'pruning' better, let's do a little study on the characteristics of the grape plants. Grape plants are vigorous plants and (therefore) need to be pruned, removing more than 70% of its branches in order to get the best production of grapes. Pruning is normally done in winter time (dormant time), just before growth begins in spring time.
Source: National Gardening Association, United States of America.
Here are some definitions of 'pruning' found in dictionaries:
1. To trim the tree by cutting away some branches in order to encourage growth.
2. To cut the unnecessary parts in order to make the tree more effective in bearing fruit.
3. To cut away branches that have borne fruit before, but have now become old/hard/deadwood, and therefore cannot bear quality fruit.
What are some of the areas in your life that the Lord 'prunes'?
Fear, griefs, sorrows, hurts, insecurity, worries, anxieties, bodily ailments/infirmities, uncontrolled anger, and the list goes on.
These are negative forces that debilitates you (i.e. makes you weaker), takes up your time and energy unnecessarily, and hinders you from growing healthily in the Lord.
Don't resist the 'pruning' of the Lord
In John 15:1-2, the Lord has promised to cut away every area in your life that has no use, no purpose, and brings no benefit, so that you can now move on to bear more fruit in life. See the heart of God here? Never meant to harm you, but always in view of what is good for you. This is the heart of your Abba Father in heaven who loves you and spares not even His own Son to die for you (Romans 8:32).
Beloved of God, let Him take away all those fear, griefs, sorrows, hurts, and even condemnation from your life today. Isaiah 53:4-5 says, 'Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed'.
Indeed, this is a time of pruning before you see good fruit in a brand new season of your life. Amen.
