Sometimes I feel so overwhelmed by where God has been leading me and I find myself asking, why would God use me when I feel like I have so little to give?
The words in this song prayer moved me today.
With my roots deep in you, I’ll grow the branch that bears the fruit. and though I’m small I’ll be standing in the storm. ‘Cause I’m planted by the river, by your streams of living water. And I’ll grow up strong and beautiful, all for your splendor, Lord. ~ Christy Nockels
A gentle reminder of where my strength comes from and just how big my God is.
Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. Colossians 2:7 NLT
And I’ll grow up strong and beautiful, all for your splendor, Lord.
A Story By Me 
Beautiful words!
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Yes the words of this song have stuck with me all day again today too!
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‘All for your splendor Lord.’
—A gentle reminder……………….—
Superb reference, tkx for posting T.
It does not get better than this.
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Your welcome and thank you for coming by!
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Most of the words in this song were very True T and I was blessed by them but God does not harshly prune us so we hurt as the Scripture below confirms and so do others but we are pruned by what we do wrong just like the Prodigal Son was, it’s God’s Discipline, we reap the evil we sow until we come to our senses and than Wow what a welcome home!
Lamentations 3: 33 For God doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the Children of men.
But I will leave a link for you T – because Jesus is indeed The Living Water and The Bread of Life as your Song shared.
https://freedomborn.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/living-water/
Christian Love Always- Anne.
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Hi Anne thank you for your comment though I do not see where she says in the song that God harshly prunes us to hurt us. I believe all of the words to this song are true. She seems to me like she is singing about how when she is going through a hard times in her life, God helps her and she is putting her trust in him, by planting herself right there beside him and putting her roots deep in him to be filled by his streams of living water….so she will grow up strong and beautiful all for His splendor.
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Some of the words T in the Song say…….”Sometimes it’s hard to grow when everyone’s watching, to have your heart pruned by one who knows best”.
The implication is that God afflicts and hurts us to prune us, He doesn’t but He does not force us to obey Him so we reap what we sow which separates us from Him till we come to our senses and repent, this is His discipline and like time out as Children it is not pleasant.
God molds and shapes us by the Fruit of The Spirit as we ask and choose to walk in them, He than empowers us to be able to, which puts our Carnal flesh to death as we aim to be perfected in Love. .No where in Scripture does it say He hurts us His redeemed Children deliberately but.having come to heart repentance Satan has the right to put us to the test like he did Jesus, Job, Abraham, Peter, Paul etc but he can’t hurt us Eternally, God protects our Soul.
When God tests us it is by by giving us an opportunity to do good and when we ask He empowers and provides so we can.
Blessings – Anne.
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For those of us who are new Christians it is a growing process following Jesus and it is very hard to be pruned. Yes I truly wanted to follow him from the minute I asked him to take my life and I want to grow and become who God wants me to be, but walking away from everything you have known your whole entire life and learning to trust and rely on God to take care of the details when he is leading you into unfamiliar territory is hard and at times it does hurt. I know because I have lived it. Friends change, jobs change, relationships change. I know God never changed me to hurt me at all, he changed me to actually heal me and make me so much better than I ever was. But it was not instant and it did hurt at times. When he asks you to go to Haiti and you see a room full of starving babies it hurts really really bad, but seeing those babies changes perspective and hearts. If it didn’t hurt I would be numb and uncaring. When I lost friends because I quit drinking it hurt to lose them, but now 4 years later it was the best thing that ever happend to me. Maybe you don’t understand the words to the song in the same way I do, growing pains is the only example I can think of to use.
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I understand what your saying T, I have also been a new Christian but it is not God causing us to suffer, it is life, you decided to go to Haiti when called because your heart is now full of Love, much like Paul who tried to reach out to the Romans to save them by sharing the Gospel but he suffered doing so and this was not God’s will but Satan who controls this world,
Those children you saw suffering is because of Satan’s evil working, all good things come from God. Give thanks for your Loving heart T shown by your compassion for them, many don’t care, their hearts are very hard.
I don’t have regrets at all about giving up my past life and attitudes, they were the pits, I welcome and give thanks for the change that comes from walking in The Spirit with God’s empowering but yes I get hurt by others as Jesus said we would when we follow Him , I don’t repress my feelings but I do seek to resolve them and if needed I apologize and I also ask God to help me forgive and Love others as He does, it breaks His heart to see us His beloved Children hurting, even when it’s self inflicted.
I Love you in Christ Jesus T please never forget that.- Anne
P.S I’m off to bed it’s very late.
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Anne, I still do not see where her words ever say or imply that God hurts us or causes us to suffer.. She says he prunes us, which is what he does to help us grow.I think her words are referring to this scripture.
John 15:1-8 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 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. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
I think she is clinging to God and singing him praise as she goes through a tough time in her life. She is not saying he caused it, she is singing praises and thankful that he is there with her through it all.
I agree and have always agreed God does not hurt us or cause our suffering and it was never ever implied or said in the song or by me.
Also thank you for your link, I just had time to watch it and it is very beautiful powerpoint.
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I’m affirming the same as you T, God does not prune us with suffering , it is not “hard” His pruning is Loving and gentle but we can cause hardship by our believing He does afflict us because we won’t Trust Him in our hearts, our fear of Him will be Carnal not Godly.
Him willingly afflicting us or allowing it, is a lie of Satan passed on by Cults and False teachers but also by those who have been deceived by them and I use to be one of them, I passed on e-mails that I had received from others that claimed God hurt us to teach or to mold and shape us, I know at the time I didn’t understand God’s Truth as I do now, I hadn’t asked for His wisdom and empowering by The Spirit and I know I’m forgiven but I still feel sadness that others were deceived.
When I first started Blogging I went on a Blog that had a Mouse Trap picture and they claimed that was what God did to us, others claimed God wanted their Marriages to end or said He was causing or allowing their suffering, they rejected the Scriptures I shared and deleted my comments and Blocked me, these were people whom I thought were Christian friends, yes I have forgiven them, if they needed help I would not hesitate but like God I hate their actions and put down of Him and I will always defend Him.
Someone said to me God is big enough to look after Himself and He is but when we Love someone it hurts to see them put down and lied about and so we want to stand up for them, this is Loyalty something every Christian who Loves The Godhead has for Them.
I’m pleased you liked the Power point T, it has some very powerful Scripture in it and combined with God’s awesome Creation touched my heart when I was creating it and still does, it’s wonderful to know just how much we are Loved.
Christian Love and Blessings Always – Anne.
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