Spring flowers are blooming everywhere! Doesn't it just give your spirit a little lift knowing summer is coming and maybe the rain will abate for a while?

Just as the seasons come and go in the natural realm, so there are seasons in our spiritual lives. Part of the growth process that the Lord takes us through is the pruning process. My father-in-law was telling me about the Camellia bush. Right after it blooms so beautifully in early spring, it has to be pruned way back, cut very short, because otherwise it will take off, with no blooms and get all out of proportion producing fewer blooms the next year. Conversely, fruit trees need to be pruned in the fall, after it has turned cold and the sap has gone down to the roots. This keeps the tree from being damaged and bleeding too much. A good vinedresser knows these things and prunes at the perfect time for the best results.

God is the perfect Vinedresser. Every trial and temptation that we go through will be used by Him to prune and cleanse our lives, so that we can bring forth more of the fruit of the Spirit. For example, if you have a problem with needing patience, God will allow a situation in your life where your patience is sorely tested, usually by another person. As you cry out to Him, and let Him mold and change you, His Spirit will actually be working patience in you on a daily basis, and suddenly you are demonstrating the fruit of the Spirit in patience that you never had before. You couldn't have come by it any other way. This is the pruning process, and we are appointed to go and bear much fruit. (Read John 15:1-17)

We can know all of the Scriptures and know all about the fruit of the Spirit and how we should pattern our lives. However, this will all be just head-knowledge, unless we allow the Lord to examine our hearts, inviting Him to do a deeper work and conform us to His likeness.

As you draw close to the Lord, He will be showing you things in your life that He wants to work on. Don't be afraid of His process for cleansing and changing you, and don't back away from Him, but abide in the true Vine, Jesus. Lean into Him during your trials, as the Source for all you need. God is a gentle Vinedresser. His timing is perfect and His love for us is sure. May the cry of our hearts always be, "Come Vinedresser, come."

Bonnie Mabon

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