Lifted Up By Pruning

Listen to the Audio

Recently I had a tree in my front yard with branches that were hanging down really low, making it hard to walk underneath. I felt like God kept nudging me to go out and prune the tree, so I went out and started pruning. I got started by cutting off some of the smaller branches and noticed that immediately the bigger branches began to lift up when the excess weight was cut off. And I was reminded of a Partners Training we did called Lifted Up By the Spirit.(this training was done almost exactly one year ago. This seems to be something God wants us to understand during this season)

On that call we discussed John 15:1-2 where Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." 

The Greek word for prune can also be translated as lift up. On the training one of our partners told a story of pruning and lifting up at the same time. They also had a tree with branches that were hanging low and a specialist trimmed off the smaller branches that were protruding out. As he did this it removed some of the weight on the branch and the branch began to lift higher without having to cut the whole thing off. So it was both pruned and lifted up at the same time. I believe this is what God does for us. Pruning removes the things that are weighing us down and draining our energy and when these are removed it lifts us up. 

Today's communion is a time of gratitude that God is the master gardener. And we are asking him to both prune us and lift us up by the Spirit at the same time, so that the things that are weighing us down are removed.

Today's Health/Fitness Tip

Sometimes our workouts also need to be pruned, and when we prune them it lifts up our fitness to a new level. It can be easy to get focused on a bunch of things that really don't matter. Here is what I have found are the best things to focus on... Strength, work capacity, and speed. 

Focus on increasing in strength, the ability to do more work without getting tired, and the ability to either move with speed or slow down if needed. 

I am praying for you.

Daniel

Partner with us in the Abundant Life Blueprint