It was truly amazing to see this week that as we read through the beginning of John 15 as a church body, my professor at Talbot also covered John 15 at the exact same time! I know you hear me say this often…but I love when God brings things up more than once. I think He knows we need repetition, and He is so kind to show us truths that our hearts need to hear multiple times.
For me, I needed to hear the words “abide in Me” this week. My mind tends to go in many different directions at once, considering all scenarios and worrying about all possibilities.
Yet God will often bring me back to this concept of abiding, of resting in Him…of staying near His side. This is one of those concepts that needs repeating in my own heart. I can’t hear these words enough. Because my heart is “prone to wander.”
One part of the message Sunday that specifically hit me deeply was this idea of “cutting down” and “pruning” and how painful that can be at times. God does this in our lives out of His kindness and grace, not for some pointless punishment that just feels hard. He has a work to accomplish in us. And on Sunday, Pastor Jason reminded us how much He desires restoration in our lives.
Remember when we journeyed through Joel together? And we were given this beautiful promise:
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.”
Joel 2:25, (NKJV)
I think what happens is we see a promise like that, and we think it will happen instantaneously. Like the blessing will just plop down in our lap, and bam, all of a sudden — everything is restored. I would say most of the time…it doesn’t work like that. The restoration process is long and slow, taking months and often years to see real progress and movement towards completion.
We are in this process. The restoration for the parts of our lives that we ache to see whole again takes real time. It simply doesn’t happen overnight.
As He works and tends to the gardens of our hearts, the cutting down of dead branches feels like He is cutting down our will, spirit, and motivation. It feels like He is hurting us. But without the hurt of exposing what needs work, He would simply leave us where we’ve always been…no progress, no sanctification.
So in a way, we must embrace the cutting. We must embrace the falling away of dead branches in our lives. It won’t always feel good, but it is so necessary.
As I sit here, I can think of a handful of things that God is actively pruning in my life. Each and every time He comes in with the shears, I start to fear that by taking these things away, I will lose a part of myself. I will lose security, or I will lose how I’ve always lived.
But this change is a necessary part of gardening my heart. And now that I can look back, I see the things He took away and a small glimpse of why He did it, and I understand more of Him in the process. I am actually thankful for the way that He has pruned me, because the struggle with those particular sins has faded into the distance. My heart has moved closer and closer to His heart…my desires have started to match what He desires. Has your heart moved closer to Him as well?
Friend, as we hold to the promise that He will “restore,” I pray that we can also hold to the promise that this cutting away is for our good. I pray that in your own way, you can embrace the pain of that so you can further understand His heart. As you let go, and change, and move towards Him…I pray that ultimately — your heart will know His peace. Because He is handing that to you, and He wants to do this with you and in you.
Give Him all the things that you are holding so tightly, because at the end of it all, He can transform even the pain into something greater than you could ever imagine.
For me, I needed to hear the words “abide in Me” this week. My mind tends to go in many different directions at once, considering all scenarios and worrying about all possibilities.
Yet God will often bring me back to this concept of abiding, of resting in Him…of staying near His side. This is one of those concepts that needs repeating in my own heart. I can’t hear these words enough. Because my heart is “prone to wander.”
One part of the message Sunday that specifically hit me deeply was this idea of “cutting down” and “pruning” and how painful that can be at times. God does this in our lives out of His kindness and grace, not for some pointless punishment that just feels hard. He has a work to accomplish in us. And on Sunday, Pastor Jason reminded us how much He desires restoration in our lives.
Remember when we journeyed through Joel together? And we were given this beautiful promise:
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
The consuming locust,
And the chewing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.”
Joel 2:25, (NKJV)
I think what happens is we see a promise like that, and we think it will happen instantaneously. Like the blessing will just plop down in our lap, and bam, all of a sudden — everything is restored. I would say most of the time…it doesn’t work like that. The restoration process is long and slow, taking months and often years to see real progress and movement towards completion.
We are in this process. The restoration for the parts of our lives that we ache to see whole again takes real time. It simply doesn’t happen overnight.
As He works and tends to the gardens of our hearts, the cutting down of dead branches feels like He is cutting down our will, spirit, and motivation. It feels like He is hurting us. But without the hurt of exposing what needs work, He would simply leave us where we’ve always been…no progress, no sanctification.
So in a way, we must embrace the cutting. We must embrace the falling away of dead branches in our lives. It won’t always feel good, but it is so necessary.
As I sit here, I can think of a handful of things that God is actively pruning in my life. Each and every time He comes in with the shears, I start to fear that by taking these things away, I will lose a part of myself. I will lose security, or I will lose how I’ve always lived.
But this change is a necessary part of gardening my heart. And now that I can look back, I see the things He took away and a small glimpse of why He did it, and I understand more of Him in the process. I am actually thankful for the way that He has pruned me, because the struggle with those particular sins has faded into the distance. My heart has moved closer and closer to His heart…my desires have started to match what He desires. Has your heart moved closer to Him as well?
Friend, as we hold to the promise that He will “restore,” I pray that we can also hold to the promise that this cutting away is for our good. I pray that in your own way, you can embrace the pain of that so you can further understand His heart. As you let go, and change, and move towards Him…I pray that ultimately — your heart will know His peace. Because He is handing that to you, and He wants to do this with you and in you.
Give Him all the things that you are holding so tightly, because at the end of it all, He can transform even the pain into something greater than you could ever imagine.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.