“I am the true
vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in
me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so
that it will be even more fruitful.”
(John 15:1,2)
Do you feel like you are constantly being pruned by the Gardener? Do you feel like you’d just like a break from
the pain and the problems of this life?
A man once visited an
orange grove where an irrigation pump had broken down. The season was unusually
dry and some of the trees were beginning to die for lack of water. The farmer giving
the tour then took the man to his own orchard where irrigation was used
sparingly. "These trees could go without rain for another 2 weeks,"
he said. "You see, when they were young, I frequently kept water from
them. This hardship caused them to send their roots deeper into the soil in
search of moisture. Now mine are the deepest-rooted trees in the area. While others
are being scorched by the sun, these are finding moisture at a greater depth."
Friends,
that’s exactly
what God intends for the pains and the problems of this life to do for
you. He prunes you so that you might
know where to look for real strength, for real peace, for real
solutions. To look to him. Not to yourself. Not to “experts” around
you. But to look to him alone. To seek him in Word and
Sacrament that he gives us. To know that he
is in control. To remember that he has proven his love to you through
Christ. To remember that he has showered
his love on you our entire life, and that he certainly won’t stop now.
And the result of
allowing us to go through pain and problems in this life is so that we might
bear even more fruit for him. That you
might know and recognize the limitless power and strength of the God who loves
you personally. That your faith might be
strengthened in his promises and his plans for you. And so that others may see God’s power
working through you.
It sounds rather strange,
but I encourage you to thank God for the pain of this life.
Praise God for the problems that he allows in your life. Appreciate the pruning the Gardener does on
you. Remember his faithful promise: he will not give you more than you can
bear. He is simply leading you to a
deeper trust in him. He is using you to
lead others to himself. And in his love,
he’s preparing you for eternity.
Prayer: Heavenly
Father, sometimes I do not understand why you allow certain things to happen in
my life. But let me never doubt your
great love for me that you have proven to me in my Savior, Jesus. Help me to accept your pruning as proof of
how much you care about me, that you want my faith in you to increase, that you
want me to bear more fruit for you in my life, and that you are preparing me
for eternity. I ask this in the name of
my risen Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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