Pruning is now. Cutting, trimming, removing, reshaping is now. That means pain is now.
Gain is later. The good to come… that will be later.
Philippians 3:12-14 (NLT)
12 I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
You might think God is picking on you unfairly but it is really proof of both His love and your potential.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 (NLT)
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.
4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
5 For the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.
6 Even when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer.
7 We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us.
You might wonder if God has abandoned you but He is always with you and right now He is deeply involved in your life.
Romans 8:35-39 (NLT)
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You might feel God is asking too much but God is pruning yo uin the right way for the right length of time so you can receive what He wants to give.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLT)
8 And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
You might wonder how a loving God could allow this to happen but He is faithfully committed to your ultimate good through every test and trial.
2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NLT)
7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.
8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.
9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Questions to think about:
If you had to identify one area in which, over the past year, God seems to have been pruning you for abundance to come, where would it be?
How should you respond?
What does it mean if you can’t identify one area?
