Stop Counting Dead Branches

“Stop counting the dead branches” … This is the gentle whisper I received from the Lord today.
Life in Christ is a continual process of God constantly pruning us, but the purpose of Him doing so is not for us to keep count of how many dead, lifeless limbs He’s removed. Any good gardener who gives constant care to a tree partakes in the pruning process, but he does so to make the tree beautiful by constantly removing what is detrimental to its’ health and to allow for new, healthy growth. He doesn’t leave the pile of dead branches at the base of the tree as a memorial but rather he removes them to never be seen again. And guess what? God is our good and gracious gardener! He is removing what’s dead in our lives in order to make us more like Him!
This is a great act of God’s love and grace displayed in our lives! Jesus’ sacrifice is our covering and therefore God remembers our sin no more! As we embrace His act of constant pruning in our lives, we need to remember that He isn’t leaving the dead branches at our feet to keep count of them… He, instead, is removing them from sight and is casting them as far as the east is from the west. So stop counting the dead branches… God Himself remembers them no more!