Are You Being Pruned?

“He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalms 1:3)

“The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing”. (Psalms 92:12-14)

“For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit”. (Jeremiah 17:8)

For a long while, God has been having me read and study about the pruning process, and it’s been extremely enlightening. He’s been reminding me that I’ve already experienced seasons of pruning, and I believe I’m going through another pruning process now. For me, each season of pruning wasn’t exactly the same as the others. I mentioned in my last post that pruning is a cutting away of things unprofitable and unhealthy that would prevent our fruit from being produced in its season. I’ve experienced pruning seasons where the cutting away was more external (i.e. relationships), and other seasons where the pruning was more internal (i.e. limiting beliefs and habits). This season I’m in now is again more on the internal level.

God has been taking me deeper and showing me parallels between our spiritual walk and the pruning of trees. As I referenced in my previous post, Jesus tells us in John 15:2 that every branch that bears fruit God prunes, that it may bear more fruit. I shared that the pruning process may be uncomfortable at times, but it is necessary. To take it further, the pruning process is something we will experience throughout our lives. God is so committed to us becoming all He pre-destined us to be that the pruning process is essential. There is a highest version of ourselves that He knew before He formed us in the womb that He wants us to become, so that His perfect plan and will for our lives can be accomplished.

Early Stage

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When we first come to Christ, we are immediately transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Heaven (Colossians 1:13). Our old life has passed away, and we are now new creations in Christ. While our spirits have been renewed – we must begin to walk out our new life in the natural. This is the transformative process that takes our entire life to unfold (Philippians 1:6).

The early stage is a delicate stage where it’s important to develop a framework sufficiently strong enough to bear the weight of future crops of fruit. This stage requires what is known as formative pruning so that the tree is reinforced.

In the initial stage of our walk with God, we bring all of our past and life experiences with us – everything good and not so good. No matter how old we are, our souls have been impacted by our experiences. Our soul is where our mind, will, emotions, and intellect live. It’s this part of us that needs the pruning process to begin taking place. We may have experienced traumatic and painful events that have conditioned us to think in ways that helped us to survive, but may now need to be removed so that we can function on a different level. We may have had negative things spoken over us early on that have become the inner voices we tell ourselves, but now it’s time to learn our true identity in God’s Kingdom. In order for us to be prepared for all of the fruit we will bear for the rest of our lives, we must begin to be pruned in such a way that our framework, our ‘tree bark’ so to speak undergoes the initial shaping necessary.

For trees, when they are planted, they are pruned immediately so they can produce the primary branches during it’s first growing season. On a spiritual level, this is where your foundation starts to be created. After some time has passed, trees are pruned again so that the shoots are strategically placed to grow in certain directions – upwards and/or outwards. Spiritually, God begins to cut away certain things that are present but must be removed so He can start to position you in a way that will cause you to grow and produce fruit at your highest potential. If there are things, or “shoots” that begin to grow inward (i.e. selfishness, or things that cause you to solely focus on yourself or on the things of this world), they are removed early before it has a chance to develop into something that could sabotage your destiny.

Fruitful Stage

As you continue walking with the Lord, He will attentively and lovingly train, shape, develop, heal, water, and nurture you to the place where you begin to produce fruit. You are becoming the person He knew you would always be and are experiencing the blessings of walking in the fruit of righteousness (Philippians 1:11). Fully formed trees don’t require the same formative pruning process that was necessary to establish their foundation, but there are however other types of pruning that must take place to keep the tree fruitful.

Renewal pruning is a technique used on the strong branches of fully formed trees where there is room for more growth. Spiritually speaking, it requires a cutting away of what was once profitable and useful, but no longer is for the next season of your life. It’s preparation for what’s coming next, and may look like a season of cleansing, purging, resetting, or receiving a new vision or new instructions from God). It may happen in the form of relationships that were purposeful for previous seasons being removed for the next seasons. Or perhaps a job or opportunity that God brought into your life that served well for a while but must now be removed to make space for the new opportunities. It may even be processes or strategies that worked in the current seasons that must be modified or shed altogether to create room for new ideas.

Regulatory pruning is a process not just for specific parts of the tree, but on the tree as a whole. It’s aimed at keeping the center of the tree open so air can circulate, and requires removing dead or diseased wood. Its also necessary to prevent branches from becoming overcrowded. If trees become overcrowded and air is not able to flow through, it can become top-heavy and has the potential to fall over when heavy winds and storms come. While renewal pruning is focused on specific branches – or certain areas of your life, regulatory pruning is focused on the health of the tree overall. It’s a season that allows you to reevaluate your life and current situations. It compels you to ask God questions like, who am I now? What are Your plans for me in this season? How can I best serve You and Your people going forward? God, what adjustments must You make so that I can continue to be fruitful?

As we read in Psalms 1:3, Psalms 92:12-14, and Jeremiah 17:8, we are like trees. And trees require pruning so that they can grow, flourish, and continue to be fruitful for the entire length of their life. There is a time for pruning, and a time for producing. In either season, we can trust that we are always in the will and purpose of God. He loves us so much that we never have to be unsure of what season we’re in. The more we spend time with God, studying His word and communing and inquiring of Him, He will reveal to us His plans for us. Though we may go through difficult seasons, we can rest and find peace in the truth that God is for us, and His process is always rooted in His deep love for us. If you feel you may be going through a pruning season, ask God to reveal to you what type of season you’re in. Is it more external than internal? Is it perhaps a formative, renewal, or regulatory pruning? Believe by faith that you are not alone. He is with you and His Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Truth lives in you. He will guide you every single day of your life and guarantee the good work God began in you will be completed.

Heavenly Father, thank You for who You are. You are the Creator of all things, seen and invisible. Thank You for teaching us through Your word who You are, who we are, and the plans You have for our life. Thank You for creating the pruning process which is necessary for us to become who You’ve called us to be. It may not always feel good, but God we trust You that You are working all things together for our good. In Jesus’ name, amen.