A few weeks ago I noticed some bushes in front of my house had begun reaching over the wall in front of my property. So I got in touch with a friend and ask him to prune the bushes and trees for me.
After thinking things through, I changed my mind and asked him to “cut him back.”
This may seem like the same thing but it isn’t. Pruning refers to reshaping the bushes or trees slightly so that they look better. Cutting back refers to chopping the limb’s themselves off, leaving only the root and small growth.
The result is an incredibly dramatic change in the looks of my yard.
Seeing armload after armload of chopped off limbs being removed from my yard it may be easy to wonder why I would do such a foolish thing. What is the purpose of destroying such beautiful foliage?
Of course most of you know the reason for cutting back is so the plants can grow back in a more beautiful way. Cutting back the disordered branches allows me to shape and care for the new ones properly.
In the same way God sometimes chooses to cut us back
The painful experience of God cutting may cause us to ask “Lord why are you doing this to me?” Our lack of understanding in the situation can be incredibly frustrating yet we can rest in the fact that God cuts us back in order to make us something beautiful
It isn’t our job to understand why God is cutting us back. It’s our job to submit. For Because of that cutting, we will come back stronger
Johnhwilburn.org 