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   The definition of pruning is to trim by cutting away something that is dead or overgrown, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth. To reduce the extent of something by removing unwanted parts. (Oxford Languages Dictionary). In John 15, Jesus reveals that He is the True Vine and that His Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Him that doesn’t bear fruit, He prunes that it may bear more fruit. The key is to abide in Him because without Him we can do nothing. 

    In the words of Lauryn Hill, it could all be so simple, but you’d rather make it hard. We typically try our best to control everything. It’s the human nature side of us. We want to make things happen. We don’t want to be caught off guard and we definitely don’t want to feel like we’re lost. Yet, in this walk we are going to experience all of these things.

    The thing with striving to live for Christ is that He isn’t going to allow any of us to remain the same. It’s just not going to happen. He is going to allow life to cause us to go through shedding, stripping, and pruning. Guess what? This process is painful. Pruning sets us up for transitioning. Transitioning sets us up to go through new doors that He has already set aside for us at the appointed time.

    The major key is to not abandon or retreat when it comes to being pruned. We have to learn to endure hardness as a good soldier ( 2 Timothy 2:3).  We have to have tenacity, perseverance, and endurance. That’s the only way we can overcome situations. Failure isn’t an option.