Seven Reasons Why We Know God Loves Us (Part 3 of 7)
3. He Prunes Us.
My last year in television was a rocky one, and at times painful. After a stint on national television, I was back working at the CBS affiliate in my hometown, San Antonio, and didn’t feel I was part of the station owner’s plans for the future. After a long stint on the weekday sports, I was moved back to weekend sports, and wasn’t given the choice reporting assignments anymore during the week. The handwriting was on the wall.
When I look back on this period of my life, it still breaks my heart. I had a passion for sports, and loved my work, but my passion for the Lord was greater. I later realized this transition was part of God’s pruning process. I had to leave television in order to fulfill His plan for my life. He moved me into a fulfilling public relations job, where I had more time to serve in ministry, as well as answer a call to seminary. I could have never done that with a haywire television schedule of nights and weekends.
Pruning is not easy.
It hurts.
It can be emotional.
You can feel unwanted.
But our heavenly Father often prunes us out of his love for us. He either sees we are overcommitted, or he wants to direct us to a different place where we can be more fruitful for His purpose. John 15:2 says God “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.”
In her daily devotional, Birthing the Miraculous, missionary and popular speaker, Heidi Baker says, “Pruning is not always removing something dead or diseased; sometimes God decides to prune good areas of our lives—areas we love—because He wants something even better to grow there.”
Are you being pruned right now? Has your favor been lifted at your workplace or in a ministry? Ask God if He is using these circumstances to change your direction. Lay this activity at the altar and be ready to give it up if our loving God tells you to let it go. Trust that there is something better around the corner.