You’ve likely heard me teach about the value “pruning it back.” While it’s valuable to “prune it back” in the experiences you provide your customers and your team members, it’s especially valuable to “prune it back” in your personal life too.

I wrote a Lenten devotional for my church this year, and I want to share it with you. With our current environment, this next week – even the next couple of months – is a great time for you to assess and recognize those things in your life that need “pruning.”

Maybe it’s the news. Maybe it’s social media. Maybe it’s binge watching. Maybe it’s toxic relationships. Maybe it’s over committing yourself to others’ requests. Maybe it’s clutter in your home. Maybe it’s a negative mindset. Maybe it’s overthinking situations. Maybe it’s perfectionism. Maybe it’s comparison to others. There are some things in your life that are holding you back, and you’d be much more effective if you “pruned” them.

Here’s the devotional:

“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

I didn’t learn the value of pruning plants until a few years ago. I always thought that if you want your plants to grow, you sit back and let them grow. It didn’t make sense to me to help plants grow by pruning. But that’s exactly what expert gardeners do. They know that the best way to yield maximum results is to regularly prune it back.

Christ tells us in John that if we are fruitful, God will prune us so that we’ll be even more fruitful. There are unhealthy branches that need to be pruned from our life – bad habits, sin, bitterness. And as strange as it may sound, there are also healthy branches that need to be pruned from our life. These are things we spend time on that appear to be “good” activities, but may not be what God specifically calls us to do in His plan for us. Spending time on these “good” activities prevents us from having enough time to spend on our true individual purpose.

What in your life needs pruning this Lenten season? 

Abba Father, you are the gardener, and we are the branches. We only bear fruit through you. We ask for your discernment and help for pruning in our life so that we can follow your plan for us, so that we can go and bear “fruit that will last.”  Amen.