116. ARE YOU BEING PRUNED. Hebrews 12:10.

You may not agree, but you need to accept that God’s discipline is always good for us! Like His love it always happens at the right place at the right time. So when you are being disciplined, don’t get fearful, rebellious or angry, sit quietly with God, and, like David, ask Him to show you where you went wrong. And when it is revealed to your understanding, repent, and ask for His leading along the right path.. Did you know, that some master gardeners actually talk to their plants? They say, “Because it helps them grow!” Imagine yourself saying “Your such a lovely plant, my word you’re really looking good today, I’m so proud of you.” Now picture yourself talking to the plant you’re pruning and saying “This hurts me more than it hurts you” Whack “You will thank me for this later in the season” Whack “It’s for your own good I’m doing this” Whack. Now picture the plant talking back “You don’t have a heart. You hate me. I’ve worked long and hard to make those roses you have just cut off.” Isn’t that just how we are with God while He prunes us? “Don’t you love me, or care about me any more? Don’t you see what’s going on in my life right now?”..We often think God is mad at us. but, No! He is not mad with us. One of the major mistakes we make is confusing Pruning with punishment. Don’t equate the two of them. God sees you as someone who can bear more fruit, someone with potential for greatness, someone He wants to utilise in a significant way. He wants you to be as fruitful as you can conceivably be. So He prunes you, even lopping off some of the things He has been blessing you with in your spiritual walk with Him. Have you lost the job you enjoyed or a relationship you loved, God may have something better in mind for you. Can you trust Him?...Do you truly believe He is at work in your life? Well, hang in there and remind Him of His Word in (Philippians 1:6) “God who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished.” Hold on to scriptures like that and speak them to Your Lord in your prayer time each day. God uses Problems, pressures and people to prune you and me for greater fruitfulness. Although He doesn’t give problems, He often works in them for our Spiritual growth He can use a major frustration, a broken marriage, a rebellious child, a financial setback, serious illness or the death of a loved one to mould and grow you. You say “But It hurts,” yes, pruning is painful. Sometimes, a gardener prunes a tree until it looks like a Totem pole or a giant toothpick, It’s not a pretty sight, but the pruning process is both positive and necessary. Note this, God does not give problems; but He allows them for a reason, He needs to see how we handle and react to them. Do we consult Him, asking His help or advice acknowledging our own inadequacy or incapability? Or do we seek the advice of others before Him? Because we don’t really trust Him or don’t want to look foolish in front of our friends and neighbours; (Joshua and his army looked a bit foolish walking round the walls of Jericho with no weapons, just a group of singers, some rams horns and a box). Putting God on the back burner or making Him our last resort or port of call instead of our first, are all signs of where He stands in our lives. You need to know this, For our Spiritual life to flourish, it has to conquer our natural life and all its inclinations. This will not happen automatically or overnight, it will take place gradually as you submit your life, Heart and Soul to Jesus Christ. And as that relationship grows, develops and gets deeper you cultivate a strong relationship with God which can only be achieved and sustained by two words “Regular Communication” Whom you regularly communicate with, you will consult, take advice from , and listen to. And if you don’t you get pruned. Why? Because we can’t say one thing and do another, especially with God. We say:--(You are all I Need… Nothing is Impossible with you...You are my Everything.) Don’t say it, sing it or preach it if you don’t mean it . Scripture is very clear about where God must stand in the life of a committed Christian. He must have “First place or No place.” This doesn’t mean we are worthless or not loved by God, No, it just means we are still on the journey, don’t rush it, “He who started a good work in you will continue until it is finished” You and are in His arms, and He is revealing a bit more of Himself to us each day and one day you will find, You can’t live without God because you are wholeheartedly committed to Him. Also this doesn’t mean we are going to get everything we ask for, No! It’s not a bargaining relationship, it’s a love relationship; Because we are committed to Christ we are very special to Him and He will only give us His very best, which sometimes means He has to say “No” Why, because it’s not His very best for us at that time. Sometimes we wont see God’s reasons for not granting our requests, and it might take weeks, months or even years and occasionally not at all in this life. But be sure of this, He can’t give us anything less than His best. Trust Him. He is the Master mind and He will open the windows of Heaven to cover your requests the only way He can. That’s when you will get,... God’s very Best for you. God made us in His image, but, when man fell, He took on the baser characteristics of humanity, Pride , jealousy, impatience, anger etc. The trouble is we tend to impute these characteristics on God and say things like “God must get impatient with us, or God is angry with us” No such thing is true, God loves us so much that those thoughts just wouldn’t enter His mind. Paul tells us “To put on the mind of Christ “ Nowhere in Scripture will you find it the other way around (Christ putting on the mind of man.). No! He has the mind of God; But, in our humanity we tend to relate to God as a Human Being giving Him our Human mindset and characteristics which of course isn’t true. so He wont and can’t get mad with us. In (Romans 8:1) Paul again tells us “There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” God does not punish His children. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. God’s pruning is for you and me to be more fruitful like His Son. ‘Can God’s pruning fail to produce?’ Sure, if we don’t work with Him.’How does God produce (Galatians 5:22-23) Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self control in our lives.’ ? He produces these qualities in us by allowing us to face situations and people with exactly the opposite qualities. He teaches us to love by putting us around difficult people. He teaches patience by letting things frustrate us, and kindness when we meet people less blessed than we are. You say “How can I cooperate with God?’ The Bible tells you (1Thesolonians 5:16-18) always be Joyful, Never stop praying, Be thankful in all circumstances, “For this is God’s Will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” Thank you for reading these Thoughts on Pruning’ Never pleasant, but always necessary, so it would pay to be a fast learner!! Remember, whatever your initial reaction is to pruning God loves you, and He will do all in His power to maintain good relations with you. So If things are going wrong it’s not His fault!!!...Do something about it. God bless Phaline. --------------------