The Pruning Process: When God is Your Gardener

Pruning is the process of cutting a plant’s leaves to ensure its health and direct its growth. It’s not just cutting whatever’s old or dying. It's also cutting what seems fruitful and thriving. Pruning sets the stage for the plant’s strength and fullness, for its optimal health and the bearing of much fruit.

As people of God, our pruning process is the same. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, grafted into him and his body as one (John 15:2-5). With Christ as our source, we grow and bear fruit, fruit that feeds those around us and brings him glory. God himself is our ever-attentive gardener whose shears we can always trust in the pruning season.

We often grow like wildflowers in the direction we think is best or work too hard trying to stretch ourselves into the tree across the street. Our true identity is in the vine, planted firmly by gentle hands. While pruning is still necessary, the cutting can be painful. But our caretaker knows exactly what we need to thrive:

A good Gardener maintains health by removing what’s dead.

In Christ, we have “…life and life more abundantly” (John 10:10). Holding on to negative things that are over and done with is not living fully into that incredible promise. Anything “dead” that prohibits your fullness is usually first in line of what’s got to go.

A good Gardener builds strength by removing competition.

God’s plan for our lives is like the strongest branch on our tree. Other paths might be appealing, but God’s is paved with anointing. Just like good, viable branches get pruned to strengthen the leader, so too does God lead us to cut off options that look good. He helps us focus on the path of his heart’s desire - a path that’s better than all our options combined.

A good Gardener creates order by removing what’s unruly.

Branches that are crooked, crossing, or just look out of place are pruned to maintain a plant’s proper shape. We were not formed by accident, we were made by design. And that design is realized as we’re sanctified throughout our lives (Hebrews 10:14). God lovingly cuts off what takes us out of shape and forms us into the image of his desire.

When God is cutting things off that look fruitful, trust him. When he’s trimming edges you thought you needed to survive, trust him. When you feel bare, out of shape, or unsure of how you’ll grow back from what you’ve lost, trust that the intention behind his pruning is pure.

Remember this - we are planted in good ground, grafted into his living vine. His joy is our fruitfulness. His glory is our growth.