It’s only February, but all things green and growing are on my brain.
Earlier this week, I was reflecting on the ingredients for growth required for our faith… Which, not surprisingly, were very similar to things required for growing plants.
Now, I am pondering what needs to be REMOVED to grow in Christ.
As I write this, I am feeling kind of overwhelmed. My brain and to do list are swimming around me… I have been doing pretty well in my new (refreshed) quest to walk with the Lord, step by step this week, on HIS agenda… But I think I have gotten out of step today.
It’s frustrating.
Lately, I’ve been asking God what I need to remove in my life to focus more on Him. He has prompted me to lay a few things down… But then shortly thereafter, leads me to pick something new up. (And yes, I prayed before I did anything like that.)
I know it’s a heart issue. And I’m working on it. But. It. Is. A. SLOOOWW. Process.
And apparently He thinks I need patience. #TheresSomeGoodNews
In front of our house here in Washington are a few hedges that line our flower bed. Often they are shapely and eye-appealing… But every now and then, they get a little unruly.
Especially when they haven’t been trimmed in a while.
Often, God has to do the same to our hearts and “stuff” in our lives. Things start to get a little bit wiry, and He has to get out His Holy Hedge Clippers.
Pruning typically isn’t fun. It’s usually tedious. But it’s always worth it.
When God busts out the hedge clippers, it can mean a number of things… Simple heart submission and focus on Him. Or completely releasing a task or role in life. Or just taking a moment to REST and take a nap.
I struggle most on days like today– when I am like, “Lord, how do you want me to respond to your prompting?” OR better yet, “God, can you hush up my brain/heart enough so I can HEAR your prompting?!?”
Convicting thought, I know. I’m preaching this to myself this morning.
God doesn’t “clip” back things in our life out of spite or because He is on a power trip.
It’s just like how we prune our bushes in the front yard… To make them look like what they are (eventually) supposed to look like.
Same for us… He is pruning us so we will eventually look like WHO we are supposed to look more like… Jesus Christ.
I’m no theologian, but I can’t recall any accounts in the gospel when it said that Jesus was flustered and flurried, overwhelmed by His To Do list, constantly distracted by the demands of the world and/or His own heart.
I want that. I really, really do.
And I know I’m a work in progress. I’m gonna guess that you are too.
So readers, let’s take some time to pause… and courageously ask the Lord to clip back whatever is not necessary for our growth in Christ. Where are we “overgrown” or not flourishing? What will it take for our hearts to be more and more shaped daily to resemble Christ?
What are your thoughts? I always invite you to join the conversation and leave a comment here.
I can’t guarantee that when I hit “schedule” on this blog post that my heart/mind will be perfectly calm and focused. But I do know that, even today, God is slowly, gently and lovingly pruning back my junk to make room for Jesus.
So today, I am grateful for the Holy Hedge Clippers.
Refined in Christ,
“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.” ~John 15:2
