When Jesus Prunes You and I

If we go to the Book of Hebrews Chapter 12 and verse 11:

“Now no chastening (that means discipline) seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Deuteronomy Chapter 8 verse 5:
“You should know in your heart that as a man chastens (disciplines) his son, so the Lord your God chastens you.”
It is not pleasant, is it? No, but it is for our own good. It helps us in life.
We bear much more fruit when the fruit tree has been pruned.
The tree which has not been pruned, grows out of line and eventually produces no fruit, and has to be cut down by the vinedresser and burned in the fire.
When Jesus prunes you and I, remember one thing - He holds the pruning clippers, the cutters, the secateurs, in one hand but remember, the hand which does the pruning has a wound in it.
It is the hand that has been pierced by a ragged nail.
It is more painful for The Lord to prune us than it is for us to be pruned.
You know, I have often seen a parent who will not discipline their child.
To me, those parents are very cruel because that little boy or that little girl has got no discipline in their lives and when they go to school they think they can just do what they like, and sometimes it takes the other little boys and little girls, to prune that child and it is extremely painful.
So today, if you feel the Lord has been extremely harsh on you because of circumstances, please just bear it.
I used to grow fruit myself.
I had a little fruit orchard here, and the trees that I pruned the most were the ones that gave me the sweetest and the most fruit - so keep your eyes on the Lord.
Remember, He loves you and if He is pruning you at the moment, it is for your own good.