* Pruning *

*Melissa
Aug 6
3 min read

This month's "Be A Better You" devotional is here! Grab your Bibles, journals, highlighters/pens, and let's do a devotional!

*What is pruning?

Pruning is the process of cutting and removing dead branches, leaves, and limbs from a tree or plant.

Pruning is necessary for maintaining the health and growth of trees and plants. Removing dead and damaged branches helps prevent decay from spreading to the rest of the plant. It promotes new growth and helps fruit production.

*When God PRUNES US*

- READ JOHN CHAPTER 15, VERSES 1-11 -

These verses of scripture in the Bible are spoken by Jesus Himself and have helped me understand what pruning is and why God must do this. Also, it tells us that JESUS is the TRUE VINE and that our Father God is the vine dresser/gardener.

***PLEASE READ THE VERSES MENTIONED ABOVE❤️

Highlight or underline them in your Bibles, if you have not already. It always helps me to do that😊

When I truly gave my life to Christ, making Him priority in my life, He started pruning me. From bad habits, to people/friends that I knew I needed to let go of, to everything in between....and let me tell you, it wasn't easy, and still isn't at times.

PRUNING CAN BE UNCOMFORTABLE, but it is NECESSARY.

***What do we do when we get comfortable?

We don't move.

But when we become uncomfortable, we will move***

Read that again.

Sometimes, the pruning may feel awkward, unfamiliar, and strange at first, but it's for our good.

To move forward in our walk with Christ, we will experience this at times.

Think about a shaggy-looking bush that is overgrown, turning brown, and starting to whither.....

But then, a gardener comes along and cuts off all those dead pieces. Now the bush can receive proper sunlight and blossom to its full potential!

It is the same way with us. When God wants us to let go of something.

*Letting go*

Sometimes God wants to prune things from us that we just aren't ready to let go of. It is so hard to stop doing something, to let go of habits, gossip, or what makes us feel what we call "better." Because we become so familiar, so comfortable with things, and when that's the way we've always done before....how do we let go??

***By SURRENDERING to Him.

There was a time that God wanted me to let go of something years ago, and I did NOT know how to do that. I knew that I needed to, but I just didn't want to. I kept feeling the conviction. I finally broke down and hit my knees and shouted in prayer, "God, I can't! I just can't!! I don't know how, and frankly, I don't want to let go of this! I just don't! Please forgive me, but I just don't!"

After admitting this the way I did, I hung my head in shame and started crying so much.

It was then and there that I realized that I just surrendered it to God.

That desire to hold on, left me completely that day. I felt like a weight lifted off of me. I felt so much peace.

See, sometimes it's not the "things" themselves that we need to let go of and surrender, ......but rather the desire to want to hold on to them*

*When the fruit grows*

When we choose to REMAIN in JESUS, we will see fruit.

When I started letting the Lord prune me and being more obedient to Him, I began to see the fruit from it. I started experiencing things like joy that I couldn't explain. Even on hard days, I felt peace and joy. I felt better. I wasn't anxious or worried like I used to be. I felt lighter. It was amazing. Better than any "feeling" that the world could ever offer. I experience the blessings of God, and am truly grateful for them.

Is life completely perfect and care-free now? No, of course not.

Do I struggle and have tough days, and feel overwhelmed sometimes?

Yes, of course.

But then I remember that God is the gardener, and he will prune all that worry and doubt off of me when I'm struggling. That way, it won't consume me.

But, for that to happen, I have to remember what John

15 says:

*TO ABIDE IN HIM and HIM IN ME*

*This is why reading the Bible is so important*

To ABIDE in Him is to REMAIN, dwell, and continue in Him. In your relationship with Him❤️ Apart from Him we canNOT produce fruit.