Recently dear hubby was working in our yard pulling weeds. After I recovered from the surprise, I thought of how the work in a yard sometimes leaves the plants looking a bit shaken. You know, like they have just been separated from their best friends and one of their sides is bare. Or, they look downcast for a few days, weeks, or months, depending on the plant and the season. We are like that. When God prunes, there is pain and suffering and we are left looking a bit shaken for a season.

Reading John 15:1-17 and thinking of the pruning that God describes, I wonder what He thought on the day or the moment or however it transpired when He knew what was needed in order to save the people He had created. In our humanness we think of the way it feels for us to suffer or for our children to suffer. God CHOSE it for himself. He CHOSE the suffering of sacrificing His Son for us. He did so that we would be able to know how much He loves us and wants us to have a real relationship with Him. Pruning is painful.

Are you a bit shaken today? Has your best friend been ripped away and you’re left feeling bare? This week particularly seems to be a week of pruning. If the garden of your life is undergoing some changes that you didn’t ask for and is ripping your heart to shreds, remember that God went there first. He gave His Son on our behalf in order to give us eternal life. The humanness in each of us thinks that this world is the most of our time, but eternity awaits and it will be forever and ever and we will dance and sing and be free of the trappings here. Oh what a glorious day that will be!

In your suffering know that God cares for you and will bring you peace, perfect peace as we present each portion of our lives to Him. This morning in prayer as I did just that, He gave me peace in a way I haven’t felt before. I surrendered to Him long ago, but the revelation of experiencing His peace in a new and refreshing way today is a vivid reminder that He wants to do a NEW work in us each day. So ponder that as you experience pruning.
In a Spirit of Hope from Christ,
Bonnie