Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The wind raged over the farm last night and this morning I see lots of limbs and twigs scattered on the ground. My Dad used to say that was God’s way of pruning the trees – “He shakes them up and causes the weaker ones to fall away so the tree can be stronger overall”. As I enjoyed the memory of my Dad this morning, I thought about how God prunes more than just the trees…He prunes His people too. Sometimes He’ll huff and puff and cause the winds to rush through the life of One who belongs to Him just so that He can prune away the pieces that need to be done away with so that He can make them Stronger. What a blessing it is for the God of all Creation to use the twigs and the limbs to drive home a Message this morning.

Life is filled with Strong Winds and nobody gets to escape them, but the winds don’t pass through for punishment and they NEVER pass through without Purpose. When the Strong Winds pass through it’s always a time for Pruning. Sometimes the Purpose is to cause some of the weaker things to fall away so that we can be made Stronger. Sometimes God is refining our Character and He’s forcing us to do away with things that shouldn’t exist in the Life of a Child of God at all. Sometimes He shakes things up to force us to hold on Tighter as we call out to Him for help. Sometimes He shakes things up just so that we can see that when we’re weak He is strong and His “power is made perfect in weakness.”

For some people, the wind seems to never stop blowing and if they aren’t careful they’ll question God in the process. I don’t presume to know the mind of God, but I think sometimes He keeps Pruning and Pruning hoping the tree will stop trying to stand on its own…and sometimes I think He’s got BIG Plans for the tree so a Big Work needs to be done to ready them. When the wind comes through it’s not time to whine…it’s time to Seek His Will and to Surrender to His Plans. God Loves a Heart that is humble and inclined to please Him. If we ask the Purpose of the winds with a Heart that is willing to be Pruned, He’ll always reveal His Pruning Plan. This is the Key to Maturing for the Journey.

The winds have passed through my Life more times than I can count and God has Pruned me into a Tree that is Strong and Willing in the process….a Tree that looks the same on the outside but one that will never be the same again on the Inside. God huffed and puffed and pruned LOTS of things from my Life that needed to go so that I could be made Stronger for the Journey…and so that I could be a usable Vessel… and I’m sure He’s not finished with me yet. When those winds pass through I never say “Why me?” – instead, I hit my knees at the sign of the first breeze because I KNOW He’s got a Purpose in the Pruning process…to make me Stronger for the Work He has for me. It always begins with a Willing Heart and a desire to be taught by the God of all Creation.

How about you?