What prodigal waste it appears to see scattered on the floor the bright green leaves and the bare stem bleeding in a hundred places from the sharp knife. But with a tried and trusted husbandman, there is not a random stroke in it all, nothing cut away which it would not have been a loss to keep and gain to lose. ~Amy Carmichael
This is profound and SO encouraging. Having heard this quote on the radio, it gave my heart such assurance that the losses I have experienced in the past few years are not wasted when I am in God’s hands. Jesus is the vine, we are the branches, and our Father in heaven is the vinedresser or “husbandman.” He prunes us so that we will bear more, bigger, and better tasting fruit!
Here is the setting for this quote:
“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 does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. … Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4)
Friend, DON’T LOSE HEART! God is always FOR you, never against you! He didn’t promise an easy road… in fact, He promised that the road would be narrow and difficult! But He did promise to never leave us nor forsake us!