Trim It Up

After I get a hair treatment, my hairdresser will usually ask, “Are you ready for a trim?” Typically, I respond, “I don’t have time for a trim.” My stylist never fails to remind me that my hair can’t be healthy unless we take care of the dead ends.  

Consider the hairdresser in comparison to the Vinedresser. God is our Vinedresser, and he knows we have dead things in our life that must be trimmed. 

BEAUTY INSIDER TIP: Use preventive measures.

Our hairdressers advise us to get a little trim now and then to keep us from losing the entire strand of healthy hair. Our Vinedresser also desires to trim us. The trimming back is not only to take away from us, but it’s also because he desires to trim off things that could cause spiritual harm. That way, we can  make room for growth in him. He wants to catch the small foxes before they spoil the vine (Song of Solomon 2:15). He uses the Word of God to instruct us and his Spirit to guide us, and he uses them to prevent us from being lured away by the enemy to a dead-end place.

When I had my first child, I got into a busy season of life. For most women, a new baby brings a new, hectic schedule. I was not careful, and I allowed the blessings the Lord had given me to rob me of the time I used to spend with him. My life had fallen out of balance. Instead of spending my time studying the Bible and worshiping the Lord, I was looking for the latest baby products, getting together with other new moms, and obsessing over plans for my son’s future. I was walking in the flesh.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things, but everything we do must be done in balance. Galatians 5:16 teaches us to walk in the Spirit, and we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Jesus shared a parable in which he related the human heart to the sowing of seeds. He said the ones that were sown among thorns choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful (Mark 4:13–20). I realized I had been allowing the cares of this life to choke my time spent with the Lord and in his Word. I became unfruitful to the kingdom of God. As a result, I ended up in condemnation, not allowing myself to be used for the kingdom of God.

Thank God, through the study of his Word, I eventually began to let go of the cares of this world. I haven’t found myself in that dead-end place again. My prayer is that you would do the same and allow the Vinedresser to trim off the dead ends in your life. I promise you’ll be pleased with the results of your spiritual growth!