Lifting The Tree… Or Better Yet, Me!

There were two major limbs.  Each weighed hundreds of pounds.  They were no match for our pole saw.  We could never have been able to lift the limbs.  But by cutting them off, we lifted the tree.

It seemed counter-intuitive.  Cutting these limbs off so deliberately.  There was nothing wrong with those limbs.  They both were full of lush, green growth.  How could cutting them off actually help the tree grow?

But that’s the point of Lifting the Tree… isn’t it, Lord?  Cutting off healthy lower limbs so the trunk grows stronger?  And the tree grows higher?  That’s when I realized: This came as no surprise to You, Lord.  Because You specialize in Lifting.

“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)

Sometimes I’m more like that tree than I realize.  Sometimes You have to cut deep… don’t You, Lord?  Taking off what I would never think to take off.  Because You know the Greater Good You want for me.  And through me.

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'”  (Jeremiah 29:11)

So I just need to take You at Your Word.  And trust You… completely.  No matter how much Your pruning — a.k.a., “lifting” — may hurt in the short-term.  Because this present trouble is light and momentary.

“Blessed is the one… whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on His law day and night.  That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither — whatever they do prospers.”  (Psalm 1:1-3)

Lift me, Lord!!!

That my roots may go deep!

That my trunk may grow strong!

That my fruit may be sweeter than ever to Your taste!

And that my hands may reach high enough to touch Your Face!

Ever upward,

Abba’s Girl

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *