"Then the LORD reached out His hand, touched my mouth, and said to me: 'Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.'" (Jeremiah 1:9–10 BSB)
God has been cleansing and pruning His people. He has been rearranging and reorganizing His house. He has come to test and protect the foundations of our lives. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken—but it's all with good purpose.
The Father is taking us from the comfortable and familiar into what feels like chaos. He loves us too much to let us stay in stagnant waters. He loves us too much to allow us to remain stunted in our growth. He is shaking things up. He is pruning and cleansing us now to make us more fruitful later.
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5 NIV)
The removing, pruning, and cleansing may have caused you to ask, "God, where are You? Do You care about me? Have You left me?"
The truth is, God is not taken by surprise. God's hidden hand is at work through the changes taking place. The Faithful Farmer is in the field of your life. He must remove the old, dead things—even things that were good for a season—to make room for the new to come. He loves you too much to let rotten fruit spoil the whole harvest. He is making room for you to BLOOM. He is answering our Psalm 24 prayer to give us clean hands and a pure heart so we may ascend the hill of the Lord:
"Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Your face, God of Jacob." (Psalm 24:3–6 NIV)
A Time of Cleansing and Pruning to Bloom
"I am the true vine, and My Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15:1–2 NIV)
I recently went through a time of painful pruning. God came as the good Gardener and removed and cut things off from my life to make room for new growth. Can you relate?
As I like to do, I want to share my prophetic process to understanding what God was doing in my life.
Reviewing Dreams
I have learned to make a habit of recording my dreams in my phone, and during seasons of mystery, hardship, or confusion, I look through my dream records to see if anything I saw in the past is for my current situation. (Photo via Pexels)
As I started to go through my pruning season, I began to search through my dreams for any clue of what the Lord could be doing in my current season.
Sure enough, I found a dream that I had almost exactly a year prior to the day God pruned my life.
The Dream: A Man Doing Yard Work
In the dream, I was at my childhood home on Waterford Lane, talking to my mom on the phone about something difficult I was going through. A man came to do yard work at our house, and he was using a leaf blower; the noise was so loud that it frustrated me.
Waking Life
In waking life, a year later, I was visiting my mom when I woke up to the sound of a man doing yard work outside, blowing a loud leaf blower right outside my window.
Later that day, my mom and I were driving down the road. Randomly, she started telling me a story from when I was little:
"Years ago, I met the richest man in Georgia at a dinner party. I told him that there was a tree outside our house on Waterford Lane that needed to be removed. The roots were getting into the foundation of the house, and it was going to cause a huge problem for the foundation. He said he enjoyed doing yard work and tree removals, so he came to our house with his fancy equipment and removed the tree."
Her words struck my spirit. Wait, what? The richest man in Georgia came to Waterford Lane to remove a tree because the roots were going to destroy the foundation of our house?
I heard the Lord say, "Mariel, I am the rich Man doing yard work in your life. I am the good Gardener and a Pruner. I showed you the pruning would come a year in advance because I wanted you to know this did not catch Me by surprise. I know this pruning has been painful, but I needed to remove this tree from your life. I am protecting the foundation of your house, your life. My work is with great, intentional care. I have a good plan through the pruning."
In the same way God is pruning my life, protecting the foundations, He wants you to know He is doing the same for many of you in this season.
Prophetic Word 2024: Pruning to Bloom
"You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you." (John 15:16 NIV)
If there is anything I have learned over the years, pruning is painful, but altogether necessary. When God removes something from your life, when He cuts down what is fruitful, rotten, and dead, He is setting you up for springtime. His hand may seem hidden; you may be looking at a barren, newly pruned field, but God is not finished with His yard work.
He is not caught by surprise. He has pruned you to bloom you. He has pruned you to make you fruitful. He is looking forward to your future—further down the road than you can see—and He is preparing a beautiful future for you. (Photo via Pexels)
I hear the Lord saying, "My heart is for you. Through the changes, pruning, and transition, I am holding on to you and I am not letting go. I am faithful to you! I am more intricately involved in your life than you can imagine.
"I am weaving all of the pieces together of what you are going through. You may not understand what I am doing right now, but later, when you see the fruit, when you see what's coming, you will understand. You must have a firm and secure foundation for what is coming. Out of My great love for you, I will shake and test and remove anything coming to damage your foundations. Trust Me in the shaking. Trust Me when you don't understand what I am doing. Trust My hidden hand at work for good in your life. You will come forth strong, you will come forth pure as gold."
"If I go east, He is not there, and if I go west, I cannot find Him. When He is at work in the north, I cannot behold Him; when He turns to the south, I cannot see Him. Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold." (Job 23:8–10 BSB)
The Lord says, "In the meantime, take up My yoke; it's easy. My burden is light. Will you let Me catch your tears? Will you let Me take care of you? Will you listen again for My voice through the time of confusion, heartache, and pain? My heart is for you. Trust My heart for you when you can't see My hidden hand.
"My hidden hand has been at work in the painful pruning of your life, but just wait and see; I will reveal how I am working all things together for your good in the mystery. The more you are pruned, the more you will bloom—and how beautiful your life will be! Just remain in Me, abide in Me, and you will see the outcome in due time.
"Your future is blooming with promise."
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Mariel Villarreal, Founder
The Embolden Co.
Email:Â Mariel@marielvillarreal.com
Website:Â www.marielvillarreal.com
Mariel Villarreal is a writer, speaker, and prophetic mentor. Her heart is to encourage this generation with right-now prophetic words that reignite hope during the waiting between a prophetic promise and its fulfillment. Through her ministry, the Embolden Co., she holds seasonal prophetic mentorships, training programs, and retreats to empower people around the world to develop their spiritual gifts and hear God for their lives, so that they can bring revival to the nations. You can follow her on social media on Instagram @Mariel_Villarreal_ and Tiktok @Mariel.Villarreal and Facebook @TheEmboldenCompany to get more prophetic encouragement!
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