Pruning

As I was cutting back my plants today I had a thought. I have read the passage in John about God pruning us many times. I have always thought of it as the pruning that shapes and molds. Today I was removing the dead flower heads from my roses and I realized that God also prunes us in the same way. He will remove what once was a vibrant, beautiful fruit in our life because it is now old and finished. By removing the old, He will allow room in our lives for the new fruit that He has for us. We remove old blossoms because even though they are dead, the plant still puts energy toward that bloom. When they are removed the plant can focus its energy toward new growth.

I wonder if there are any old ministries or areas of my life that I once was focused on, but now the time has passed and it is time to allow those to be cut from my life so there is room and energy for what God has in store for me.

Forgetting what lies behind, I press on toward the mark...