As I walk around the neighborhood, I see many homeowners and gardeners cutting back bushes and trees. It is an odd process designed not just to provide a pleasant appearance of the bushes, but also for the health of the plant. Pruning makes it possible for the inner parts of plants to receive more light and to be more productive.
God uses a pruning process on us as well. Sometimes He must take something good away from us in order to give us something better. We may be doing good work in an area, only for God to take us from there to another place where our impact can be magnified. That is not to say that this pruning process will not hurt, because it will. It is difficult for us to let go of good things. But if we will, God has so many beautiful things to show us and to accomplish through us.
John 15:2 says, “Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Reluctant Retiree 