We live in a culture that is focused on success and increase. The only thing that people might be interested in losing is weight, but they are not interested in any decrease in lifestyle, wealth, comfort, or pleasure.
He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30
The word “decrease” in the above scripture is about decreasing in popularity and authority. How many people would willingly want to decrease in popularity or authority!? Many Christians pray the above prayer, but I am not sure if they truly have grasped the consequences of declaring it in their lives. This scripture invites a difficult pruning that gives room for God to cut off what is unnecessary or harmful in the life of a believer.
The ministry of John the Baptist had become popular, but once Jesus’ ministry began, he knew that his ministry would have to take a backseat to what Jesus was doing. If John the Baptist had not chosen to decrease, it could have brought confusion to the people. Furthermore, John the Baptist was in need of the Savior as well. Therefore, he had the courage to be in tune with God and accept that his ministry had an expiration date. Unfortunately, he was killed during the years of Jesus’ ministry. Nevertheless, during the season that John was alive, he chose to decrease in popularity and authority in order to point people to Christ.
Sometimes believers are so bent on fighting the devil that they are resisting God’s pruning process. In the process, they fight to keep things in their lives that God wants to prune. Pruning is a serious matter, and if Lord desires to cut something out of our lives, we should pay attention to it. The devil wants to steal something, but God prunes with a purpose! To distinguish the difference, we need to seek the Lord not our emotions. When we abide in Him and remain neutral, we can gain the Lord’s mind about the situation and give Him room to work the way He desires.
The good news is that God’s pruning lasts only for a season and then the new life appears! Pruning allows us not to rely on external factors such as our image, wealth, or position for our identity or confidence, but it allows our roots to go deeper in God! When the new season brings fresh growth in our lives, we have the opportunity to have increase of spiritual fruit that tastes so much better!
Do you want greater fruitfulness in your life? Do you allow God to prune what is unnecessary, fruitless, or diseased?
