Pruning With Purpose

A look at the importance
of spiritual discipline

By Cheryl Paulsen

After we had lived in our home for about fifteen years, someone told me that taking care of shrubs in the yard was like raising children—you had to watch them all the time and correct any little problems. When I looked at our overgrown bushes, I wished I had understood that concept when we first planted them. Because we let them go too long, they had to be severely cut back. They have never been as beautiful as they would have with consistent care from the time they were small.

That consistent care would have involved cutting off shoots when they grew in the wrong directions, pulling off dead leaves and blossoms, sometimes even clipping thriving branches to keep the proper shape of the bush.

This consistent care can be compared to discipline. Consistent discipline as it relates to children includes correcting small actions from the time the children are young. It means teaching them the importance of submitting to their parents, teachers, and others who have authority over them. Does all of this happen at once? No, day by day the corrections have to be made and the reminders given. A tender, willing child is generally easy to guide and discipline. For the strong-willed child, the measures often must be stronger and applied more often.

Discipline is necessary

If we are born again, we are God’s children, and for us, too, discipline is necessary. Salvation and sanctification change us completely, including how we look at life and how we react. But God wants to refine and perfect our day-to-day walk, and this is done by spiritual discipline—trimming off the little “shoots,” correcting, guiding, and training. If we are tender and willing, God’s measures may be gentle. If we are strong-willed and full of self, the measures will probably need to be stronger and more frequent.

Consider the meaning of discipline. Webster’s dictionary says it is “training that develops self-control, character, or orderliness and efficiency; strict control to enforce obedience; acceptance of or submission to authority and control; to train.” What a wealth of meaning there when applied to our Christian walk!

Are there attitudes and actions that God would like removed from our lives? Sometimes our pastor exhorts us, “Be sensitive to the Spirit. Listen to what He says.” As God has applied spiritual discipline to my life, He has let me see that He cares about my smallest thoughts or reactions. If I do something that grieves Him even slightly and I am listening to the Spirit, He will correct me. Right then I’m at a critical point. If I respond properly to the check of the Spirit by humbling myself, telling Him I’m sorry, and taking any action He directs, then my heart is open to receive more of the Spirit’s direction. If I justify myself and rationalize my error by saying something like, “That’s just how I am,” or “I was right because . . .” then I’ve strengthened the self in me and hindered the Spirit. The Spirit can seem strict, and at times self cries out in pain, but submission always brings a reward.

The Bible says, “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left” (Isaiah 30:21). God has promised the direction, but we need to be tuned to the Spirit to notice the little checks, and then respond correctly to stay tuned.

Step by step

All of us appreciate the times when God blesses us mightily and we feel as if our souls would burst with the goodness He pours upon us. But we know that every moment in the Christian life is not like that. It is a walk, one step after another. And spiritual discipline is what keeps us walking in the right path. It is what keeps the channels open so God’s Spirit can flow to and through us. It is what trains God’s child—the trimming that makes the “plant” beautiful.

Let us tune our ears to the Spirit’s slightest suggestion and determine to follow God in every detail of our lives. It will be well worth any effort. Remember, He gave His life for us. If we present ourselves a living sacrifice to Him, it is only our “reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

Cheryl Paulsen is Corporate Secretary at the Apostolic Faith International Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.