We love the God who blesses, heals, resurrects, and all the goodness. He delights in doing these things because it’s one dimension of who He is. But, He’s also the God who cuts. We don’t talk much about this dimension of God yet it’s also who He is. No wonder many believers’ first reaction when cut is frustration, disappointment, and anger. We frown at God for cutting us asking how could He?
In John 15:1–11, the Bible says that God is the true vine and the gardener. It says that He cuts off every branch that doesn’t bear fruit. He also prunes the branches that bear fruit so that it bears much fruit.
But for some reason, we dwell on the vine, branches, and the pruning. We overlook the detail about Him cutting. This kind of sermon is very unpopular in the church today and amongst believers. It’s a topic that’s abhorred, a taboo even.
We love being told about His goodness, mercy, grace, blessings, and prosperity. But anything uncomfortable, like cutting, we want nothing to do with it.
The truth of the matter is that God as a gardener will cut us. He will cut off the dead things and people in our lives that we won’t let go. The things we cling to that draw us away from Him, He will cut. The places that we go to when we feel empty and thirsty to be filled up yet end up doing more harm than good, He will cut. Those ungodly relationships that we use to fill the voids in our lives, He will cut.
The thing about His cut though is that it’s not just the dead things that He cuts. Sometimes, He cuts us in places that need to be cut to make us better believers. God looks at the hearts of men and sometimes, our hearts need an open surgery for it to perform well.
Job was cut yet he was a righteous man. Joseph was cut yet he feared God. Some of the cuts we go through aren’t because of sin. In some instances, we get cut because of our integrity, our faith, and the good we do. Why? Because the trial of our faith produces endurance.
It’s only when you go through the cut that your faith life will be forced into the open and show its true colors. So, the next time He cuts you, don’t try to get out of it prematurely. Allow the cut to do its work so that you’ll come out of it mature and well-developed, lacking nothing.
The majority of us believers, if we are honest, love God for the outcomes and the by-products that come with salvation. We love the safety and the comfort that comes with His mercy, goodness, and blessings. Our relationship is based on events and blessings. But the minute anything uncomfortable comes our way, we are quick to look the other way. We don’t love God for who He is but for what He can do for us.
No wonder many of us struggle with having a deep, personal, and intimate relationship with God because that costs too much. Intimacy means sacrifice, total surrender, and letting God be Lord over everything. It means taking up our cross and giving up control. It means being uncomfortable and being cut. We would rather be comfortable than being cut.
But if you’re going to bear fruit and have a personal walk with God, you need to accept this aspect of Him. If you’re going to abide with Him, you must be ready to be cut. The Bible clearly says that as a gardener, He will cut us.
Today’s prophecies and sermons are full of, “God wants you to be happy, to be successful, blessed.” There’s nothing wrong with these things. But, prophecies found in the New Testament talk about death, chains, and tribulations for those who would bring glory to God.
If your relationship with God is based on blessings and events, it’s shallow. When storms will come, that foundation will be swept away by the storms. But if your relationship is based and built on who God is, even when the storms come, you’ll stand.
I’m reminded of Daniel’s friends when they were threatened to be thrown into the burning furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3:17–18 were ready to die because of their faith. They were confident that God would save them. But they were ready to die even if He didn’t. With confidence they told the king, even if God doesn’t save us, we will not bow down to your gods.
That’s a deep and intimate relationship to have such a stand when your stand is a matter of life and death. The faith walk isn’t a playground but a battlefield.
At the end of the day, you must believe that all things work for your good, including the cut. The next time you’re cut, or if you’re currently being cut, stay put and trust the cut. If you’ve never been cut and you’re ready to take up your cross, the cut will come.
God knows every detail of your life. Trust His cut.
