Are You In Need Of Pruning?

Being a teenager, I had a desire to clean my life up. I made mental notes on the things that needed to be changed such as my temper, my tongue, and a desire to love my family more. Growing up, my parents bought me an organ and every day I would play it for the Lord. I didn't care what song I was playing, it was for Jesus.

So by the time I reached high school, the Lord was speaking to my heart and one dayI gave my life over to Him. But when it came to living out my faith, I failed miserably. I was like a yo-yo. I would read my Bible one day, but not the next. My prayer life was in shambles, but I still had this aching desire to know the Lord more. And my relationship with my father became very strained. I was a mess and didn't know why.

Now, as I look back, I see the issue. I wasn't keeping my eyes on the Lord. I was still rebellious and a perfectionist. My life, my heart, needed pruning. 

 John 15:4-5 ESV [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. [5] I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

We weren't meant to live life alone. As humans, we crave community to share the good and the bad days with and to get advice. We wrestle with questions, doubts, etc. together. So why not with God? Deep inside our hearts, we experience an emptiness that we fill up with worldly things and desires. These things feel good at the time, but they are just distractions. We need something more. 

I believe deep down inside we all crave Jesus. That desire to search for more meaning in our lives or our main purpose to being born.  I believe this is the Lord reminding us that we need Him. 

He wants us to talk to Him and tell Him why we don't believe in Jesus. What our doubts, fears, and dreams are even though He already knows them. I can't stress this enough. We are His creation and God enjoys seeing us live for Him. It's a life-long lesson to learn and a very important one.

"Apart from me you can do nothing." We can try to make ourselves better, even reading all the self-help books, but to have true peace in our lives, Jesus is the only way. Through our relationship with Him, we learn to trust the Lord and to grow fruit in our lives. So what is this fruit?

Galatians 5:22-23 ESV [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Have you ever tried to be patient with difficult people on your own? It's the most frustrating thing. Or how about being joyful in a situation where you are the one being taken advantage of or where everything is going wrong? Although your intentions may be good, you end up giving up and avoiding God all together. I've been there and it's a horrible place to be. This is why, as Christians, we need God to prune the bad fruit from our lives. To mold us into the type of person we need to be. 

Dear Lord, I want to believe in you, but I have issues that I struggle with that get in the way. Please speak to my heart and help me overcome the doubts, fears, and sins that are holding me back from giving you my whole heart. Prune my life Lord. I need you. In Jesus name, Amen.

God Still Heals

 "Fear not for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my right hand." Isaiah 41:10

I have read this verse many times over the years and it has been my go-to when life slapped me upside my head. It speaks many things to me, such as healing when I'm sick, never letting me go when I am doubting God's presence in my life, etc. For Christmas, I needed physical healing.

On December 23rd, I woke up with intense pain in my mouth and facial/neck glands. I thought it was another gland infection. I've had them before. I just take mucinex, drink lots of water, and vitamins. It does go away in a few days. 

But by the next day, I felt so sick and beat myself up for not calling a dentist the day before. At night the gland pain would hit harder. But during this time, I gave it over to the Lord because I know that He has always taken care of me.

When I got my lower wisdom teeth extracted, the Lord told me He would take care of me and He did. It was a tough road to recovery, but I made it with His grace. When my right kidney was experiencing pain and infections, I asked the Lord for help and He was with me when four huge kidney stones crumbled out of my kidney more than a week later. God was also with me when my gall bladder was at its worst. I was able to expel the stones with God's help. So, knowing this, I called on the Lord again and surrendered all this to Him and Isaiah 41:10 says it all. 

When we are at our weakest and call on the Lord, He holds our hand and walks us through our trial. He wants to take care of us. He wants us to lean on Him like we would our parents. It's about a relationship with the Lord - that is what this life is all about - a relationship with God through the sacrifice on the cross by Jesus. And this relationship is supposed to grow each day if we keep at it.

What gets me through times like this is praising God. Not just when things are good, but also when things go bad. Praising God in the midst of a storm is a sacrifice. Even though we are sick and can't get out of bed because of weakness, we sacrifice that little bit of strength to praise God for the blessings He's given us. That's what has gotten me through this life.

I made it through Christmas and found a doctor the next day. As of December 29, the swelling is down and I'm feeling better. 

God is amazing people and He still comforts His people and gives the right amount of healing to boost our faith in Him. Keep looking up and keep praying. That is the backbone of your walk with the Lord. Keep talking to Him. He wants to hear from you.