We have the privilege to hear from Kimberly Grainger this week! Be sure to check her out on the contributor’s page.
When a Floridian family’s grown kids come home for Christmas, they hike. So, while navigating the trail, I’d noticed a sign explaining the forestry service’s controlled burns. These highly-organized, pre-planned events reduce the number of nutrient-sucking smaller plants, allowing old-growth trees to thrive.
Reminds me of the original Gardener.
I’m smack-dab in the middle of a “controlled burn” and am feeling the heat. He’s torching the debris, for my health.
So now, as with many life seasons, I wait, surrendered to His purifying fire.
He’s purging
those tangled weeds of selfishness,
that poisonous crawler of pride,
the parasitic roots of insecurity.
It’s sweaty, painstaking business, necessary to growth.
The Gardener explained, “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.
Pruning proves life.
Pruning produces fruitfulness.
Pruning prepares abundance.
God’s more concerned with my character than my circumstances, so comfort surrenders to growth.
See, the Christian life isn’t only Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good…”, but also Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”.
So, yes, it’s all working together for good, and that good is my Christlikeness.
Burn, purge, prune me, Jesus, that I look more like You.
Recent Comments