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Daily Devotional

Pruning

By Dr. Carolyn Tennant
Read John 15:2

I hate to prune; it just seems so illogical. Here we have a healthy plant that has blossomed and is doing well. It’s big and has grown quite full. Prune it? What a waste of good foliage.

The branches, however, have extended away from the vine. It takes more time and effort for the plant to get the nutrients out to the extremities of its branches. This results in less life-blood going into the production of fruit, flowers, and leaves.

So get those scissors out and snip away. Give that plant a hair cut—even a butch. Cut it way back. It looks dreadful for a time, but it will grow again, becoming fuller, more beautiful, and far more productive.

God does this with us as well. In John 15:2, Jesus said that “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.” I should submit more easily to the pruning process and not fight it so much. After all, the results are worth it.

When we go through the pruning procedure, however, it is easy to become angry. “Why,” we groan, “since we remained in the vine and produced fruit, do we still have to endure this awful shearing?” It’s not like we were one of those dead branches! Why must good growth be cut off—that which we worked hard to produce in days gone by? We are intimately attached, so the pruning hurts, cutting away what is still alive and connected. Ouch! What a painful operation to endure. It is tempting to get upset with God for such treatment, wondering if it even pays to stay attached in the first place.

After pruning, the skimpiness of what remains is embarrassing. We are reduced to practically nothing, and our beauty has been shorn off. Why would God do such a thing?

Just remember, ultimately He has a bigger plan. More fruit, more beauty, more fullness and wholeness. So prune away, God. Hey, that hurt! Don’t touch that!

DR. CAROLYN TENNANT is a Professor of English at North Central University, an Assemblies of God school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She is an ordained Assemblies of God minister who maintains an active schedule preaching in churches, district events, family camps and overseas.

The devotionals you enjoy each day on Leaders Unlimited are taken from Frontline: A Devotional Guide for Christian Leaders, by Dr. Carolyn Tennant. To order your own copy, download a Frontline Order Form.