2 My brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, 3 because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. 4 Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need. — James 1: 2-4 (NCV)
This passage has always stuck out to me. I speak it to those around me for encouragement, and I find myself circling back to it when my life feels shaky and unsure. No one likes to feel out of control. No one likes to feel like their life isn’t adding up.
I think what makes it so hard, is that we aren’t always expecting the moments when it happens. God doesn’t always warn us by saying “Hey, I’m testing your faith” — He deliberately puts us in situations to grow us and strengthen us, but to also expose weakness and vulnerability for us to work on.
Sometimes God has to strip us down, make us raw, and turn us inside out~ because what HE wants, and what HE has planned is better than all that’s inside of us, and all that makes sense to us.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” — John 15: 1-8
Lately, I feel like God has really brought out the hedge clippers in my life. He is definitely pruning me and my faith. And I wish I could say that it’s an easy process, and everything is wonderful ~~ but being plucked, trimmed, shaped and molded is not the most comfortable place to be in life.
Just like the vines in the vineyard, the dead and dry places in our life must be removed or revived. There are places in our life that are holding us back, and must be removed so that we can truly achieve our full potential in Christ. And then there are things we have in our life that are just “okay”, “fine”, “”that’ll do”, that God wants and commands excellence in.
God wants us to excel, He wants to show His glory through us. He cares for us enough to not let dead branches and vines encroach our lives, and potential. He loves us enough to tear through those ugly areas to make us beautiful.
So how are we supposed to find JOY? The joy is in knowing that God is never finished with His work in us. That when we are feeling these pokes, pricks, and sometimes huge gashes in our hearts and spirits, that God is working and moving. Because he feels that me, YOU, we, are worth the work, and that our worth is greater than where our lives are now.
Does that mean that it hurts any less? No. It sucks… Being honest. It’s hard! Being in this process now, it’s a struggle at times~ But I know I can lean on the One who created me, and is shaping me, knowing that HE has the master vision of my life’s design. And I can have hope and joy, and peace, knowing that when this process is finished, His glory will shine brighter through me than before -(because all those dead branches aren’t blocking the view anymore!)
Infamously . Unfamous 