Spiritual Incisions
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. John 15:2
My Sunday School class at Fairhaven Baptist Church is studying Psalm 119. Matt Chandler does an excellent job walking through Psalm 119. He tells a story of a time when his daughter had a boil from a mosquito bite and he took her to the doctor to get it lanced. Being a young child, this frightened her. Matt explains how he had to hold his child down, with tears in his eyes, for the doctor to cut into the bite to release the infection. He compared this heartbreaking experience to how God must feel every time we go through struggles and pain that He allows to happen to us. I love how Matt Chandler’s describes God as a surgeon that cuts out the parts of our lives that harm us.
“You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” Psalm 119:68 (ESV)
Don’t we all see this first hand with ourselves, children, and spouse? It is not fun at the moments when the pruning takes place, but it’s worth the growth and wisdom that is received. This could be something humiliating, devastating, embarrassing, or upsetting. We are mostly probably aggravated at the time because we don’t “get it.” We see it as a negative. I read something that said, “You have to be pruned to bloom.” This is so true! Pruning, trimming, or cutting out allows growth that is so beneficial.
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Counting My Blessings,
Susan Browder
Matthew West “Broken Things”
