I am challenged by a prophetic word that was shared at the end of 2025. In part it said: ‘2025 is the year that has prepared you for the next . . . The enemy may have whispered in your ear that you accomplished nothing, but the Lord is saying, “I accomplished exactly what I set out to do. Now watch as I cause my faithful one to grow and bloom. 2025 wasn’t a setback, it was a stepping stone to the next thing. You aren’t coming out empty handed, you are coming out ready to be filled. You weren’t broken, you were prepared. You haven’t missed it, you’re standing in the place to receive your promise.” (© Candace Roberts)
I must admit that as I looked back at 2025, it did feel like a year of setbacks and it’s a wonderful encouragement that the Lord has been working, even in the difficulties, to prepare us for a year where we bloom and grow. John 15:1 says, 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.
I have many friends who love gardening and I witness their complete devotion to care and nurture every plant, tree and the very soil, in order to bring about the best possible growth. It’s amazing to me that Father God looks upon us with even more devotion and vision of what our lives are destined to become. My gardening friends explained that if roses, which I love, are not pruned back, they won’t be as good blooms. Pruning can feel cruel as if you are cutting away the very identity of the plant and sometimes our lives can feel like that too. During Christmas I had to take more of a back seat because I was recovering from minor surgery. I found it really hard to leave all the clearing up and let the guests do it. They were completely happy and told me in no uncertain terms to go and sit down, but I didn’t want to let go. That act of needing to let go and let others do things was the way the Lord was pruning me. As a ‘doer’ I can make my identity centre on being busy. Deep down I can feel unworthy of being loved if I’m not the one doing things for others. But Jesus says I am loved unconditionally, not because of things I do but just because of his amazing love for me. So many of us need to live in this truth that his love is a gift. I can see now, how he was using my health need to prune back my ‘need to be needed.’ He wanted to prepare me so that this year I can give out the truth more fully than ever before, of the wonder of his unconditional love for us. It was a hard lesson for me to grasp but I’m so glad he cared enough to prune me so tenderly.
Ask the Father to show you what he is doing in your life and if there are areas you’ve held back on letting him change you. His work in us is so full of loving kindness and we need never be afraid. It’s always his plan that we will become more fruitful, overflowing with his joy and peace as we let him be the gardener of our souls.
