So this spiritual journey you are on has been going pretty good.  You’re in God’s Will.  You’re growing, living life, things are looking up……. then Whack!!!!

Cut! Not just pruned, ripped open all the way.  Exposed, hurt, feelings of “why this…., why now…., now what…., what’s going on?”

Honestly, when we pray “Lord, lead me, guide me, keep me in Your Will”, we truly mean it, right?  Even when His Will makes us feel hurt and pain?  Deep down, as we are getting cut, are we thinking, “Uh Oh, I guess my prayers are being answered.”

How has God cut you off?   job/divorce/financial/friend/health/______________(fill in your cut)?????

Did He cut you off by using the job/divorce/financial/friend/health/___________ (fill in your own cut) or

were you CUT, because of the job/divorce/financial/friend/health/___________ (fill in your own cut)

Perhaps God is grafting us with new wood.  A graft is when a tree is CUT, then a new piece of stem is joined with this old wood.  Why?  The new stem is more fruitful, better against disease, all in all a better tree.

At the time of our CUTTING, we feel pain and hurt.  Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”, declares the Lord. No comfort from that verse, is there?   We have been wounded.  A protective wrap is applied to the graft until the new wood and old tree grow into a strong union.

Our journeys are filled with times that God “cut” us back in order to provide a new closeness with him.  When it happens, it hurts, it wounds.  But over time, looking back,

can you now see that new growth that was in God’s thoughts and ways for you?  Share with me a time your were “CUT”.

It takes time.