Divine pruning for greater fruitfulness

 

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 (John 15:2 NIV).

This is a cyclic spiritual process whereby God prunes us so that we can bring forth greater fruitfulness. Once we bear fruit, we get pruned again so we can bring in more.

As you spend time in God's presence, the atmosphere allows Him to examine you and work on you. In a pruning process, certain changes will occur to us. It requires that we yield to the Lord to prune us of everything that will hamper our growth and fruitfulness.

The things that are pruned off us here are not sins but certain ideologies, situations or connections that are of no relevance to the new level of fruitfulness God is bringing us into.

Pruning involves new sizing and shaping of the plant and this involves trimming. The goal is to achieve enhancement of shape and helps it to grow in a particular direction.

This refers to taking away the distractions, those things that weigh us down and slows down our spiritual progress, service and work. God wants to intentionally give us the right sizing and shape that aligns with His goal for us.

Sizing and shaping also helps the plant achieve a beautiful and more organized outlook. This might be the time to bring in a new outlook to your life, work and ministry to achieve better perception, appreciation and attraction. 

Organization gives room for growth. Things that facilitate effective organization include planning, goal setting, action plans, administration, leadership, teamwork, etc.

There is a need to be focused and grow in the right direction. Sometimes, God wants to cut unnecessary growth. Not all growth is good. Cut off non-essentials that are not in alignment with God's vision. 

Another way is through the cutting away of dead or diseased parts of the plant. This helps for the healthier growth of the plant. 

This allows the plant to bear more fruit than before. It also makes it receptive and sensitive as new pores are created. 

We need to identify with God's help, ideologies, mindsets, activities (programmes), patterns and relationships that no longer fit into God's plan for us for the now and cut them off because they can hinder our growth.

God wanted Apostle Peter to adapt his mind to reaching the Gentile world with the gospel. He received a revelation concerning that but he responded by saying, "Not so, Lord". 

A "Jonah" in your boat can cause unnecessary storms to affect your journey.

Entering relationships without divine approval can result in loss and setbacks in God's agenda for your fruitfulness. Be vigilant!

In pruning plants to increase fruitfulness, it is imperative to cut older, unproductive wood to stimulate the growth of new, vigorous shoots.

Pruning requires not only removing diseased or dead wood but also the older and unproductive wood.

We need renewal. We need to change our strength so that we can walk and not be weary.

Our strength could have become depleted. We need fresh fire. We need a new anointing. 

Until we experience the renewal, we will continue to experience a lack of productivity. 

If the old ways of doing things are not worked on, you will continue to experience the same results. We need to embrace new strategies that will help us achieve greater results.

There is a need to inject Holy Spirit-inspired ideas in the things we do ideas to birth new things, times and ties.

It also means engaging energetic and future-thinking people in the things we do. A ministry, work or organization without this category of people will find greater productivity an impossible feat. It is time to inaugurate a successful team that will take your vision to the next level.