Influencers Weekly Devotional

Down to the Nub

by

Rocky Fleming

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:1-2

I’m starting to understand what happens this time of year and it helps. Still, the lonely nights of winter, the gloominess of trees stripped of their leaves, and an annual occurrence of some sort of surgery that seems to follow me into winter brings on a gray view of life this time of year. Some experts call it SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) and it has a lot to do with winter. I might have it, and it passes sooner or later. But, during the dark days of winter, and with this state of mind, it is a place where the Accuser can have a field day with me. Any of you men have the same thing come on you? Come on and admit it if you do, for this is a place you have to stand on God’s promises and be assured that the darkness will pass, and your joy will return. Last night I was going through the same old routine of feeling like a loser because of feeling so useless this time of year. You see I’m one of those guys who struggle with listening to the Accuser’s voice that asks me “What have you done for the Lord lately.” This is a vulnerable time of year for me with this voice, and it challenges a condition in my fallen nature that tells me that I am unworthy of God’s love, and I must prove my love for Him. It’s a battle to stand against this voice, and the only way I can do so is to rely on God’s promises to me about how He loves me, and how I can serve Him best. I know my instincts will not conquer this voice, and I equally realize my will power to grit it out will not cut it as well. It requires a defense that comes from the Lord. This was the case last night, and I will share it with you in hopes it will bring you some encouragement during a challenging time you may be having right now. There was a mystical connection of some verses I read and a picture in my mind God gave me that caused me to hear His voice, as He broke through the Accuser’s voice and helped me see things as He does. It was in the back room in our house after my wife was asleep that I could speak privately, and loudly to the Lord. Feeling empty and worthless, and yet experienced with what was going on, I delivered my desire to serve the Lord better, and to not wane in my commitment to Him, as I grow older. All I could say to Him was whatever I have in me whether it is lacking or beneficial to Him, I lay before Him. Then, I accepted His promise to me that this is foremost what He asks of me. I did not give God any personal glory I’ve gained in life, for it is worthless in comparison to what He has done for me. Instead I gave Him the ugly, inglorious hidden faults that others don’t see, and I know still reside in me. What a sorry gift to give to my King, for it is no better than garbage we throw out. But, with assurance to me He took it with a smile. I did not give to God the good fruit I have produced for Him, for even that is His work through a man who is simply abiding in Him. Instead I gave Him a man more like a withered branch desperately holding on to the Vine during the winter days and after the harvest. Dry, shriveled up and empty of fresh fruit, I was also empty of self, empty of hands and empty of illusions that I deserve anything good from God. My gift to Him was this emptiness, and yet I felt His pleasure. How can this be? Why would God delight in such as this? I think it is because it is within this perspective that a recovery from the affects of the Accuser’s voice begins, and some major misunderstanding about God’s love for us is removed. It is a place where the heart gets in touch with reality, and it is this contrite heart that pleases our Father best. It pleases Him for it is when we are honest and empty of ourselves and our illusions, that He is able to complete His pruning. From this point forward, we are within a process that will one day yield its fruit to our King’s glory, and this should bring us encouragement. “For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.’” Isaiah 57:15 I believe it is in this lonely time of being pruned and prepared that our hearts are made contrite, and when this happens, a great fruit producing time in our life will follow. We are prepared for it like a grape vine is prepared for the spring by the gardener. A snip here and there on the vine’s branches, lifting and binding the branch to a brace so that when the fruit that surely comes will be supported, the gardener prepares for the harvest even though it is months away. Likewise, our Gardener prepares us for our part in the harvest. He prunes so that we will bear more fruit … an abundant fruit, for this fruit honors His name. It is because of the gardener’s work that the plant is prepared for the spring, and it is by God’s design that these lonely, SAD times can also prepare us for our next stage of life. I mentioned I was given a picture in my mind that God used to encourage me. Don’t think me weird for saying this, but also do not doubt either that God speaks to a man in many mysterious ways, even through a snap shot to our thoughts. What I saw was a grape vine with nubs where the branches had been cut off. I felt God asking me what I saw in this vision. I replied, “It is not what I am seeing, it is what I am not seeing. I see no branches.” “Look closely again,” I felt the Lord say. I looked more closely and in doing so I could see on the nubs of the vine, there was a softness and tenderness forming around the scars where the pruning occurred. From my experience with the way grapes grow, I could tell the vine was about to erupt its vital nutrition around these nubs, and branches will grow forth through these nubs, and fruit will follow. To my heart God spoke, “It is the same with you My child. You have been pruned. You now have a contrite heart. There is a softness and tenderness that has replaced the hardness that had crept into your heart. You have been made ready for the harvest that will surely follow. Have I not assured you that this will happen? Does not my word promise this to my children who abide in ME? What good medicine I received that night, as God assured me that this present darkness will pass, it will do its work, and days of great fruit and joy are ahead. I hope you too will receive this assurance, if you are going through a similar season of life. But remember, there is a reason that spiritual winters occur in our life. If we respond to them correctly, they will lead to a contrite heart, and God is delighted when this heart forms in us. He can do a great work through a man like this. He has promised this, and we can take Him at His word. Download file