Have you ever wondered why people, jobs, homes or other things come and go in your life? Maybe at one point you thought you had it all…great life, fantastic friends, wonderful family, more than enough to spare and share only to see it all disintegrate in front of your eyes? Have you ever thought that it might not have been meant to hurt you but to promote you?

God’s wisdom is much higher than ours. He can use our most painful situations as a pruning process. But why?

Well basically, God uses the painful process of difficult situations to prune things from our lives that are no longer useful or to promote us higher than we see ourselves. It’s not because He wants to harm us or have us go through pain, it’s simply because he wants to strengthen us to fulfill the richest, fullest and most fruitful life He has in store for us. See, sometimes we simply hold onto “things or people” too tightly. Maybe because of the “fear of the unknown” or the memories attached; but whatever the reason, we simply won’t let go even when we know we should or even when God is prompting us to let go.

God always has a bigger purpose in mind and the only way we can see our destinies come to fruition is to let go of things or people God wants us to let go of.  It’s like a parent teaching a child to ride a bicycle. As a parent, you know that when you let go of the bike there’s a very good chance that your child is going to fall. You also know that it is a vital part of the learning process and you’ll be there when they do. God is our ultimate parent. He sees things in a much different light than we do and He also knows what’s best for His children. Let’s look at a few reasons why God may start the pruning process in our lives:

• Sometimes things are hindering our growth. Maybe the very thing we insist holding onto is keeping us from growing further. Have you ever thought that maybe just maybe if you let go, God’s love and grace would fill the void? Is it possible that something you see as a tragedy is actually a blessing in disguise filled with the very opportunities God wishes to shower you with His goodness? If we could see things from God’s wisdom and of eternity, we might interpret these difficulties as a catapult to a higher level since God promises not to withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)
• Sometimes God can use a difficulty to prune you from a habit, dependency or a thought that is no longer useful. Just as parents allow a child to make their own mistakes while vowing to be there when they fall…Is it possible that God allowed the difficulty to cause you to look upward towards heaven for solutions to your problems?
• God knows we need to “die to ourselves and desires” in order for Him to use us for His purposes. We need to let go of egos, greed, selfishness, pride and many other issues before He can trust us with His great works. Sometimes difficulties can come into our lives in order for us purge ourselves and to see what we truly need…God and God alone.
• Jesus knew that persecution and adversity would come against all believers. When you are faced with undeniable difficulties with no solutions, where do you turn? Do you seek the one who knows all? Do you ask Him for endurance to withstand the tests and hardship? Do you seek His answers above all else? Adversity comes and we need to be able to withstand them and that only comes from above. God has to be everything and in first place in your life if you truly want to be used for His purposes.
• Sometimes hardships happen to see how the Lord will turn our grief into joy…The great Shepherd said, “I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.” (John 16:20) God hears your cries and feels your sorrows, however He also promises to turn your tears into joy if you will let Him.
• Sometimes things will get worse before they get better. It’s not because God doesn’t love you. Actually, it’s just the opposite. He loves you so much that He wants you to learn how to assume greater responsibilities. If He can trust you with little then He can trust you with much more. (Luke 16:10)
• Sometimes difficulties or tragedies might happen in order to accomplish the greater purposes of God. Maybe God wants to “show off” in your life to have others see your situation and wonder how in the world are they making it through all this; and they end up being drawn into God’s presence from your difficult situation. “Neither this blind man sinned nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:4)
• Misunderstandings, betrayals or difficulties can be used to prune people out of your life. Sometimes God will allow a difficulty to happen so you can determine who your real friends are. People that stick by you through the hardest of times are people you wish to surround yourself with. However on the flip side…individuals who say they would be there but aren’t are certainly people who you need to be grateful for your time together but let go so God can multiply you with better, caring friends.

It’s never easy going through a pruning phase in life. It is downright painful, filled with tears and just zaps the joy from you. But does it have to be? If you can allow yourself to see the greater purpose of the pruning process, you just might allow God to “prune away” and praise Him in the process. I know it’s difficult but if you will allow it to happen to the fullest degree, you will walk away with something more amazing and more precious than you could ever have imagined. God has good things in store for you. Embrace the pruning process to see God’s possibilities come to life!

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