Pruning

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. – John 15:2

I was lying on my bed, asking God for the reason why I had to go through this season. I believed things happened for good reasons. There must be good reasons!

I scrolled through podcasts and tuned in to a sermon titled "Pruning." God showed me the reason through His word in John 15:2. God allows bad situations to happen in our lives, not because He is cursing us or angry with us, but to increase our capacity to be more fruitful. He is preparing us for a bigger and more meaningful future!

God whispered in my heart, “Stop questioning why. Can you trust Me instead?” My friend, I know it hurts, and it hurts so much sometimes. I know we do not understand, and we may feel God is so unfair. But allow me to tell you that the moment we stop questioning why and start trusting God, peace will flow into our hearts. We do not need to understand everything now, but we will understand His bigger plans one day. Plans that are bigger than we could ever imagine or comprehend.

Remember, trials happen not because God forgets us or punishes us for our past wrongdoings. He hurts when we are hurting. He cries when we cry. However, God allows pruning to happen so that we can remove things that hinder us from bearing more fruits - our wrong priorities, our wrong habits, and our wrong characters. Trials help to prune all these.

We are never alone during trials. Our loving Father will deliver us. He answers our prayers when we call upon the name of Jesus. Not only does He answer, but He will be with us throughout the pruning process. Finally, God will lead us to victory so we can glorify Him. We may not know how long the trial will last, but we know for sure that it has a victorious end! Trust God.

Pruning transforms us into becoming stronger, better, and more fruitful.