Word for the Day February 21
By: Evang. Cascille
Hammack
Jesus said, "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 bears fruit He prunes so that it will be more
fruitful." John 15:1,2
How do you handle being pruned (cut) when you are
remaining in the Lord and bearing fruit for His glory? Jesus said you would be pruned if you are bearing fruit.
It is hard to understand when this manifests in your life through various seemingly unsurmountable problems in the natural
realm when you are truly doing the will of the Father and seeing great fruit in the Spirit. It is painful. It
makes no sense to the natural mind. It is not that God is not just and not that He does not see the great harvest
you have brought in for His kingdom, for that reward is eternal. He is rather allowing you to endure
more hardship so that you can obtain a greater anointing. The anointing, the power of the Holy Spirit living in you,
is what bears fruit through you. The anointing only comes through much trial and difficulty. Anyone who
lives in a great anointing could tell you stories that seem unbelievable. The anointing comes at a great price, but
as the Word says in 2 Cor. 4:17, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs
them all." God sees the end result.
The annointing is necessary to do the work of God.
It breaks the yoke of bondage. You can not be given the real anointing without ongoing prunings. Everyone who
truly remains in Him and bears fruit that will last undergoes this pruning. It does not make it less painful.
People don't talk about it very often. But the end result is like that of a rose bush that is drastically
cut back right when it seems the flowers are most beautiful. For a season, it looks bare to the natural eye. But
inside those pruned branches are not a diseased tree. Instead, it is a most healthy tree that will grow even greater
and have even more big, beautiful blooms that will create even more blooms by seed when it begins to grow again as God
gives it power to do so, Phil. 2:13, "for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."
Do not be discouraged when you are pruned by the Father. It means He is pleased with you and He
sees the end result. It has happened because you have been obedient and trustworthy. Be patient and thank
Him for He sees the fruit you have borne and will create even greater fruit through you in this process of
cutting you. Don't look at it in the natural, the eternal end is beautiful.