When God Prunes: Trusting His Loving Hands

Scripture Focus:

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” – John 15:2 (NKJV)

Introduction:

Have you ever looked around your life and wondered why certain things—relationships, opportunities, dreams—suddenly felt like they were being cut away? It can be disorienting. Painful. Even scary. But beloved, when God prunes it’s not punishment—it’s His preparation.

In John 15, Jesus paints a picture of the Father as a Gardener, lovingly tending to the branches of our lives. When He prunes, it’s because He sees potential for more—more growth, more fruit, more of His glory revealed through us.

What Happens When God Prunes Your Life

Pruning Is Personal — And It Can Break You Before It Builds You

There was a time I didn’t think I would recover. The kind of season where everything I thought was secure came crashing down. I wasn’t just losing things—I felt like I was losing me.

It wasn’t ministry being stripped—it was my marriage. My identity. My ability to even recognize who I was apart from being “strong.” I was the one everyone leaned on, prayed with, got advice from. But behind closed doors? I was unraveling.

When God began cutting away people, patterns, and even parts of my heart that I had built my life around, I didn’t call it pruning. I called it pain.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” – Psalm 147:3 (NKJV)

I remember lying on the floor sobbing and whispering, “God, if You love me, why does it hurt so bad?” And yet—He met me there. Not with quick answers or fixes. But with presence. With the still, small whisper: “I’m not done. I’m making room.”

It didn’t feel like love at first. But now I see—He wasn’t destroying me. He was rescuing me.

He was stripping away what I thought I needed so He could rebuild me with truth. Truth about who I am. Truth about His love. Truth about what real healing looks like—not just surviving, but becoming whole.

When God prunes, it’s never random—it’s always rooted in His love and your future fruitfulness.

Pruning Produces Peace—But Only After the Pain

Peace isn’t the first thing that shows up in a pruning season. Pain is. Confusion is. Silence is. There’s this ache that comes when God starts removing people or places you once depended on—and it feels like abandonment.

But beloved, pruning isn’t rejection. It’s redirection.

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” – Job 13:15 (NKJV)

I went through a season where I lost people I thought were my forever. Friends who walked away when I needed them most. I didn’t know it at the time, but God was severing relationships that had become idols. He was pruning my need to be needed, my fear of being alone, and the version of me that always had to perform to be loved.

It was lonely. But it wasn’t empty.

Because in the silence, I began to hear Him clearer. When the noise of others died down, His whisper became enough. When the approval I used to chase disappeared, I found myself face-to-face with the only One who never left.

And that, dear one, is when peace came—not in the removal, but in the revelation. The peace that doesn’t make sense. The kind that comes when you realize He really is enough.

If you’re seeking quiet refuge in this season, explore how to unlock the sanctuary of the secret place.

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” – Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

Pruning Requires Surrender—Even When You Don’t Understand

Surrender sounds beautiful until you have to live it.

Letting go of what’s comfortable? Of what you thought God promised? That’s not poetic—it’s painful.

I remember journaling one night through tears, writing the words: “God, I don’t know who I am without what You’re asking me to release.” And that’s when I realized… that’s the point.

Pruning isn’t about making you better. It’s about bringing you back—to the Vine. To Jesus. To the One who doesn’t need your perfect plan or your polished faith. He just needs your yes.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” – Proverbs 3:5 (NKJV)

And trust isn’t a feeling. It’s a choice to believe that even in this—even here—He’s still good. Even when nothing makes sense. Even when you’re angry. Even when you’re tired of crying.

Because He’s not asking you to be strong. He’s asking you to stay surrendered. 

In seasons when God prunes deeply, He is also planting healing. It’s okay to feel broken when God prunes. That breaking often leads to birthing.

Sometimes trusting His pruning means letting go of your own plans to embrace God’s unique blueprint for your future.

Reflection Questions:

• What in your life has God gently or painfully removed in this season?
• Is there something you’re still clinging to that He’s asking you to surrender?
• How have past pruning seasons, though painful, led to unexpected peace or deeper intimacy with God?
• Can you trust that even this cutting away is part of His love story for your healing?

Take your time with these. Journal them. Cry through them. Don’t rush the answers. Sometimes the greatest healing begins with permission to be honest.

If you’re unsure what God is doing in this season, begin by aligning your heart with His vision.

Practical Application:

This week, lean in—not away. Here are a few Spirit-led steps to walk this out:

Journaling Prompt:

Sit with the Lord and write this at the top of your page: “Lord, what are You asking me to release, so I can grow?” Let your pen flow from a place of honesty, even if it’s messy.

Spiritual Tool:

Download the “Spiritual Garden Assessment: Pruning for Fruitfulness” Worksheet

This free tool will help you take inventory of what’s thriving, what’s dying, and what God may be gently inviting you to prune or water.

Memory Verse:

John 15:2 – Meditate on it daily this week. Say it aloud. Write it on a sticky note. Let it become a lifeline when doubt or grief tries to take over.

Closing Prayer:

Father,

I don’t always understand Your pruning—but I want to trust it. I lay down what I don’t understand and ask You to meet me in the pain.

I release what I’ve been holding onto too tightly—whether it’s a person, a plan, or a version of myself You never intended me to carry.

Prune me gently, Lord. And when it’s not gentle, hold me through it.

I want to bear fruit that lasts. Not just for others to see—but for You.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

An Invitation for the Broken Woman:

If your heart felt seen in this post—if you’re in a pruning season, and you’re weary, unsure, or just ready to grow again—I want to gently invite you deeper.

Closer to the Vine is a 5-week journey I created just for women like you.

It’s not a program to push you—it’s a sanctuary to lead you back to the arms of Jesus.

We’ll walk through pruning, spiritual battles, intimacy with God, and ultimately, fruit that lasts.

It’s self-paced, Spirit-led, and soaked in Scripture. This is a course inside our ThriveCart Learn student portal that I am providing free of charge for the woman who’s tired of striving and hungry to abide. This course will only be offered free for a limited time before going to a paid course product.
This still, sacred space walks you through the foundation of fruitfulness: staying close to the Vine. It’s your invitation to heal, pause, and hear clearly again. It comes packed with 10 free downloadable resources for your spiritual growth. Once you join this course for free, you will retain free lifetime access to the content.

Click here to learn more and start your journey

Let the Gardener tend to your soul. The healing begins in His hands.