Hope Amid Pruning

Lately many of my friends have been “dealing with stuff.” Health stuff. Financial stuff. Relationship stuff. Emotional stuff. And amid all the stuff life throws our way, it’s easy for any of us to sometimes feel discouraged, if not hopeless.

But today I read a very encouraging quote from Job, a famous Bible character who had to deal with an extraordinary amount of “stuff” in his life:

There is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant (Job 14:7 NASB).

The truth is, we’ve all been “cut down” at one time or another. Yet Job points out that there’s hope for new life to sprout in the aftermath of the pruning process.

This is especially true from a New Testament perspective, in the lives of those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Amazingly, the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead will quicken us after we’ve been cut down (Romans 8:11). That’s how the apostle Paul could write that during his many afflictions, he had learned to trust “in God who rases the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:3-10).

Of course, some well-meaning people falsely portray the Christian life as trouble-free. While ours is certainly not a trouble-free life, the Bible does describe it as a resurrection life.

We’re meant to have the resiliency of a tree that, despite being cut down, will triumphantly sprout again (2 Corinthians 2:14).

The Scent of Water

An intriguing part of Job’s statement is that the catalyst for this tree’s new life is “the scent of water.” What could this possibly mean? Unless water is chlorinated, which never happened in Job’s day, it ordinarily has no scent at all.

I don’t claim to have full understanding of this, so let me know your thoughts. Job seems to be saying that if a tree stump dies because of “dry soil,” it can be quickly revived simply by HOPE that water is close at hand.

I have found this true in my own life. When I’ve faced times of discouragement and the death of my dreams, God has been able to revive me even through a tiny “scent” reminding me of His calling for my life. Hope soon returned, and my seemingly dormant gifts began to flourish once again.

How odd it seems that an odorless “scent” can revive us. But just as person who faints is sometimes given smelling salts to resuscitate them, the Lord brings us back to life through a fresh scent of His purpose for our lives.

Grandpa Fraggiotti’s Grapes

My grandpa, Ignazio Fraggiotti, was born in Italy in 1898, in a town called Monte San Giovanni Campano. When he came to America, he worked hard and eventually was able to purchase a house. One of the first things he did with that house was to plant a huge garden in the backyard.

Grandpa’s garden was full of an incredible assortment of vegetables and fruit. Corn, lettuce, potatoes, squash, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries—his garden had it all.

But the plants Grandpa treasured the most were his grapevines. At the end of each summer, he joyfully harvested the grapes and turned them into his homemade wine.

Knowing his love for those grapes, I was shocked by what I saw when I visited his house one fall afternoon. His grapevines had been brutally trimmed, leaving only a fraction of the original plants.

“Grandpa, what happened to your grapevines?” I asked. I wondered if perhaps they had been cut down by some predator.

“I’m the one who cut down the vines, Jimmy. It’s what’s called pruning,” he explained.

“But, Grandpa, what possible benefit could it be to cut down the vines so low?” I kept pressing. “Will the pruning cause there to be more grapes than before?”

Grandpa was amused by my questions and patiently tried to help me understand. “If I didn’t prune the vines, there actually would be a greater number of grapes next year, Jimmy. However, the grapes would be small and shriveled, not suited for making wine.”

When I think of that conversation with Grandpa Fraggiotti, it causes me to give thanks for the times God has pruned me of unnecessary things that would have hindered my future fruitfulness. Jesus spoke of this very thing in John 15:1-5.

Friend, sometimes we may be tempered to think the pruning will surely kill us! But no, God means it all for our good.

You see, if we were unloved or “illegitimate” children, our Heavenly Father wouldn’t bother to discipline us. Surprisingly, the painful trimming and cutting is actually proof of His love (Hebrews 12:5-11).

Instead of pruning causing us to lose hope, Job’s message is that it should be the very catalyst of hope. Just as Grandpa Fraggiotti confidently expected a bountiful harvest of plump grapes in the coming season, God’s pruning can prepare you for better days ahead.

So, where are you in the pruning process today? Even if you feel like you’re being “cut down,” I pray new hope will arise in your heart. May your dormant, God-given dreams come back to life in the “water” of His presence.