Devotional Thought

By Leona Choy

UNTAMED SHOOTS

(Excerpt from Leona’s book “LIVING IT UP”)

Are you pruned regularly? No, I'm not asking if you eat prunes for 
breakfast. Pruned in the way that the gardener clips the shrubs, 
grapevines, and especially fruit trees. He breaks off selected branches.

Pruning gets rid of unwanted extras, the undesirables. But the little 
sprouts or new twigs are not inferior or bad. They are healthy and 
strong. If the gardener allows all the natural branches to develop 
simply because they look good, or he feels sorry to cut them off, he 
limits the strong main growth. The life of the tree or vine would be 
dissipated into too many branches. The gardener shows wisdom and skill 
as he says no to certain shoots and yes to others.

Does it hurt the tree to be pruned? Certainly not in the emotional sense 
of pain. The greater gain resulting from the elective surgery is worth 
it. The gardener does a favor to the tree by his apparent rough 
treatment as he breaks off little branches. If the tree could speak, it 
might not say, "Thanks, I needed that!" when the sharp clippers nip off 
an apparently healthy little branch. It might not understand the need 
for such pain, perhaps even yelling "Ouch! What did I do to deserve that?"

Jesus illustrated the process in John chapter 15. He made the point that 
pruning was for the flourishing, good vine, the already fruit-bearing 
vine, not punishment for a bad vine. Pruning is done to produce more 
fruit and then much fruit.

He applied the procedure to our spiritual lives. He said that God, the 
Father, is the Vinedresser, the Master Gardener. Jesus is the vine, and 
we are the branches. He taught that abiding in Him and He in us was 
indispensable to fruit-bearing. Branches must have their wild shoots 
dealt with. If they aren't pruned, the vine becomes a tangled mess of 
unfruitful, unruly shoots.

What are these untamed shoots in our lives that must be broken off? They 
are different in each of us. Some people have many popping out all over. 
I do. Some have fewer. They may be good things in themselves: good 
works, good ideas, good talents, even good ministries. But if we allow 
all of them to remain and mature in their natural way, they will make a 
jungle out of our lives and our witness for the Lord.

We do not always know which branches should be broken off and which we 
should permit to develop. Only God knows. If we do not prune the 
unproductive shoots ourselves, He takes over and breaks off certain 
branches. Painful? Yes, often. Resisted? Probably. Not understood? 
Generally.

The Lord breaks off our branches by closing doors of opportunity, 
removing certain people from our lives, teaching us to say no to some 
things which appear good but are not God's best for us. He provides us 
with the gift of discernment to lay aside the unproductive. Sometimes he 
lays us aside for a time to teach us how to get our priorities straight 
so we can do His mainline will without wild shoots.

-------

By submitting to God’s pruning, we will joyfully flourish and produce 
heartier fruit.

HEY, LOOK ME OVER

Leona Choy


I delight to show off my new, green shoots

reveling in the admiration of others who agonize

to produce theirs, while I’m always pregnant

with potentiality and effervescent with possibility.

But along comes The Master Gardener

sharpening His nipper-clippers

lopping off and snipping

my upstart, grand productions.

I cry in agony to see my precious creativity

treated so shamefully!

“Wild growth,” He states simply

“detouring mainline life and fruit

to a useless, spurious shoot.”

Selectively, but tenderly, He cuts back

my prized and puffy self-efforts.

Tearfully I watch them fall and dry and die

nursing my wounded ego

dismayed to see them go.

In time I come to see the necessity

of submitting to Divine selectivity

although reluctantly and painfully.

For when ripe fruit bursts forth

from main branch buds remaining

my strength and vigor thus conserved

life can surge through my fewer shoots

because The Gardener chose to prune

my wild and wayward ways

and perform on me

His elective surgery.

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