Pruned

"Better be pruned to grow than cut up to burn." - John Trapp

Pruning hurts. That's why so many people shy away from it. But we must "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5). We must trust God, trust that He has our best interest at heart and trust the process of pruning.

The reason why we do not do trust in the Lord is because we do not have faith in Him. “But without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). Things come to a grinding halt when there is no faith.

And the reason we have no faith in God is because we really do not believe in Him. We either don’t believe in the existence of God or we do not believe in His capabilities.

“for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

To “be pruned” and to be “cut up” are the same act. The difference is one is chastisement, the other punishment. One is a course correction for righteousness that leads to salvation. The other is the process of taking out and incinerating the trash.

Bill Hitchcock