Life on the Vine
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.”
I have a confession. I’m a control-freak - and that coupled with the annoying, people-pleaser perfectionist within me makes for the ultimate, internal-frenemy situation. I care how others see me, but I hate it because I can’t control it. The only thing I can control is my own perception of how others perceive me - and how do I actually control that? I can’t. But I want to. So I try anyway.
It’s enough to send any control freak in circles. But I’m not meant to live my life dizzy from chasing control. I’m meant to live on the vine, and life on the vine means surrendering control. It means letting go of what other people think of me, of my need to be right, and of my own way - and that’s not easy. But…
Life on the vine is meant to free us.
Our God is a good gardener. When we follow His lead, He doesn’t push us to grow in directions that will hurt us. He leads us towards life and freedom. We might grapple for control by asserting ourselves and going our own way, but if He’s the way to life, then our need for control can only lead to death.
We can choose to surrender to God and allow Him to guide our growth, or we can take control and risk an unfortunate rendezvous with the garden shears. Right now, the branches that carry my inner control-freak, people-pleaser, and perfectionist are on the chopping block, but I’m sure that those branches aren’t healthy. Going head-to-head with the shears might hurt a little, but I’m choosing to trust that our God only prunes away the dead and dying places so that life and freedom can flourish.
Father,
Thank You for tending to us - for trimming back the branches that aren’t leading back to You and for nurturing the ones that are.
Teach us how to surrender to Your gentle hands before we grow off in the wrong direction. Help us to stay connected to the vine no matter what our pride tells us.
God, we love You. Help us to surrender to You. Amen.