Painful Pruning Leads to Unimaginable Fruit

"I am the true vine,
and my Father is the vinedresser.
Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away,
and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes,
that it may bear more fruit."
John 15:1&2

With the talents and gifts God gave me I expected to bear a certain kind of fruit. I never anticipated His pruning would remove those very activities and interests that used such gifts. Tearing them out of my life has caused some pain. It makes me feel stripped, bare, and ugly.

We owned some grapevines at one time. As I didn't know what to do for them beyond watering and providing support for the branches, very little fruit emerged. A relative showed me how to prune them. It was a difficult and time consuming thing to be the vinedresser. I had to isolate the main vine, find the branches protruding from it, count the first two knots (looks like knuckles on a finger), and make the cut. So many leaves and branches cut away left those grapevines ugly and bare.

With time, much water, and plenty of sun those branches grew new ones and fruit grew. By late summer the ugly pruned vine was completely covered with numerous branches, large green leaves, and grapes growing underneath. My children loved the shady nook it created with grapes to be picked and enjoyed right above their heads.

Jesus taught using word pictures and life experiences that were familiar to his disciples. No doubt they understood that pruning was a cleaning of some sort and that it was necessary if you wanted a fine crop of grapes. With the help of my ESV Study Bible and my own garden experience this passage in John 15:1-11 is more clear.

However, my mind and my heart still want to argue a little with the vinedresser. The pruning was painful and I miss certain activities that I thought brought Him glory. So, while I wait for new growth and the fruit that will come I must abide in the vine (John 15:4). I will protect and guard my time with my Lord to learn from His Word, fellowship with Him in prayer, and obey His precepts (John 15:10).

Joy can be found in resting in His presence (John 15:11). As I can't do anything apart from Him (John 15:5), neither can my heart be at peace with the pruning unless I trust Him (Isaiah 26:3). If He allows me to see the fruit that is produced for His glory, it will be understood in my humbled state. In dependence I find acceptance. In acceptance I find humility. And in humility I see what a big God can do with a pruned branch.

Thankfully, God has given me some understanding of the fruit He is producing in me through the eyes of my husband. He blogged about me "completing" him. I know that if I had my way and all the various activities that I would pursue if I hadn't been pruned, I wouldn't have been available enough for my preaching husband to feel this way. Thank you, Father for the pruning and the unimaginable fruit!