Monday, July 17, 2023
Pruning Season
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT)
Scientists have discovered that giant sequoias, the tallest trees in the world, have fallen victim to tiny insects. Massive trees that survived storms and wildfires have been destroyed by little beetles that ate their way through the trees’ massive fibers. It may have taken months, or even years, but the little beetles did their work.
In the same way, we might appear to be doing well spiritually, but there could be hidden sin in our lives that hinders our walk with the Lord and our usefulness to Him.
The psalmist David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” (Psalm 139:23-24 NLT).
We, too, can lay our lives bare before God and ask for the truth of His Word to shine into our lives. And He may say, “Well, I see something right here. It’s growing like a cancer. It needs to be dealt with.”
It may appear to us as insignificant. We might even say, “Okay, Lord, I acknowledge that it’s a compromise. But it won’t amount to much. I mean, look at those people over there! They’re committing big sins, blatant sins! I’m just doing this little thing.”
But little things turn into big things. And sometimes, God must make changes in our lives and remove things that will harm us.
We may have our defenses up against the big sins, as it were. Yet the so-called little sins we toy with could be eating through the fibers of our lives and eventually will bring them crashing to the ground.
If God has been doing some pruning in your life lately, know that it isn’t to tear you down or make your life miserable. He wants your life to produce even greater spiritual fruit in the days ahead.
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