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I am the true vine and my father is the gardener. 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 verses one and

We are the vine. So I want you to visualize a tree and I want you to think about what you see. You see vines, you see leaves, you see fruit. So we are the actual vine and God is the gardener. So in verse two, what we see is that he cuts off every branch that bears no fruit.

And he also prunes so that it will bear even more fruit. So as we are going through our daily struggles, we don't know if we're in a pruning season or if we're in a cutting season, right? Because it looks the same, it appears the same, cutting off a branch, cutting off a person, stepping away from a job, saying this marriage is no longer

working for

If we are allowing God to help us make those decisions, sometimes that prune can feel like a cut. So how do we know if God is cutting off this branch because it's bearing no fruit or if he's pruning it so it can be more fruitful? It is what happens after. So if you're in a cutting season, if God is trying to cut something out of your life,

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you will feel the sigh of relief. You will feel this heaviness being lifted off of you once that relationship, that thing, that person, that activity, the mindset, the addiction, whatever that thing is, once it has been removed, you feel like, okay, I can move forward. I can do this. I can press

And if it's in a pruning season, you also feel a sigh of relief. But what God does is he reveals himself to you as he is pruning. So he may say, okay, this job is not serving you anymore.

I want you to look for a new position. And so you start looking for a new position. And then the next thing that you realize is, wow, I got a promotion. I got a raise. I have a new boss. Right. So it doesn't feel good because you're cutting something off. But as you step into the next thing, you start seeing fruit being produced. The same thing applies within your relationships.

If you decide this marriage is no longer serving me, I cannot do this. And so you, through the guidance of God, you decide that it is time for me to do something different. I have done praying, I have done counseling, I've done therapy, I've done everything I could possibly do to save my marriage. And so I am giving this completely to God and I'm going to allow him to do what he needs to do. And in the meantime, I'm going to start seeing

What things do I need to do if I no longer would like to be in this marriage? And what will happen is God is going to open a door. He's going to close the door. He's going to send you the right resources. He's going to send you confirmation that yes, you've done everything that you can. he's going to, in that moment, your spouse will be different. They will be more loving. They will be more caring. They

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speak to you differently. They will say, I know we've gone through all of this counseling and therapy and you know what? I feel like I need to make some changes. I have to do this work so we can do this work together because I am committed to saving this marriage. So as you're going through those cutting or pruning season, be mindful of what is happening on the other side of that cut or that prune. Is more fruit

better fruit that you could ever think of, hope for, or imagine? Or is it this is over? I'm cutting this branch off and there's nothing left for you to do here. So let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, I ask you that as we are going through this season of pruning and cutting, that you reveal to us where you want us to be, what you want us to do.

The relationship the job the addiction whatever we are struggling with today Lord help us determine whether you want us to Stay in this place with a little bit of pruning or whether it is time to Cut it off to say we have done what we can do and now we need to move forward Be with us today Lord. Help us allow us to move forward in grace in your son's name. I pray amen