Welcome back to Feature Friday!
Our last guest post of 2019 – wait, the LAST Feature Friday of this decade?! And boy, fellow Christian blogger, Katrina Littlepage, is closing off this year with some DEEP revelation that will help you grow in Christ in 2020.
Before Katrina takes the reins here, I just wanted to share that this woman of God is awesome and, we actually went to high school together! When she’s not blogging on Read My Little Page or sharing inspiration on social media, she works in admissions at a college in Tennessee with aspirations to work in full-time college campus ministry and do personal training!
Did I mention she is also recently engaged?!
How precious are these two?!
Katrina shares Biblical inspiration and insights to help grow your faith on her blog and all over her social media platforms. Make sure to check her out in the links below and follow her!
Instagram | @katrina.littlepage
Facebook | @trina.littlepage.7
Make sure you put on your big girl panties for this post, because it will challenge you in your faith and obedience to the Lord when He begins to ask you to prune different relationships, hobbies, or anything else that isn’t edifying Him.
Enough of my rambling, without further ado, Katrina Littlepage, friends!
Resistance
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so He can produce more fruit… Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me.”
John 15:1-2, 4
The pruning stages in our lives are rarely ever comfortable. I wanted to share the definition of prune to illustrate a clear picture of what God is speaking in this scripture.
Prune (noun)- to reduce the extent of something by removing unwanted parts, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.
Now, I want us to think about all of the Facebook and Instagram posts that we see about “cutting people off” or “finding my peace”- but when it is time for God to do those things for us, we resist.
What does that say about us?
We say that we want to strengthen our relationship with Christ, so God begins to prune. He tries to get you to end certain relationships that will hold you back from Him. He opens up doors and gives you opportunities that aren’t really ideal in your eyes. He starts stirring your heart to forgive a friend but then what happens?
Resistance.
To say you want to grow in your relationship with Christ but not to embrace the pruning season is impossible. I’m not saying we should just be so excited about letting go of people or stepping into new or different situations, but to produce more fruit and grow closer to the Father- it is worth it.
So, I ask again, what does this say about us? If we try to control everything, including the pruning…
Are we saying God’s will for us isn’t good enough?
Or are we saying, “God. I simply just don’t trust You.”
We may not be saying with our lips, but we are saying it with our hearts.God will continue to prune people and things in our lives until we meet Him face to face.
For me, the toughest season in my life was whenever I became a believer. I have a group of friends that I love a lot, but now the most important thing to me, Christ, isn’t the most important thing to them. Not only is Christ not the most important to them, but they love the things that as a believer, I’m supposed to hate.
I struggled for a while with loving the person and hating the sin. For me, it was more of loving the person and tolerating the sin. I wrestled with not losing friends but also wanting to love Christ with all of my heart, mind, and soul, resulting in pruning certain friendships so I would not be put in the position to disappoint the King.
I talked with a mentor and something he said to me that I loved was, “Whenever we become believers, your old friends become your mission; but those who love you, edify you, and help you grow closer to Christ are your true friends.”
“Whenever we become believers, your old friends become your mission; but those who love you, edify you, and help you grow closer to Christ are your true friends.”
So as I stated before, pruning is rarely ever going to be easy, but God is so gracious through it all.
I remember not feeling like I had believers around, and He has exceeded anything I could have expected with the friendships he has given me. It won’t be easy, but He is good. He won’t disappoint us with what He brings next.
In Psalms 119:105, David sings to the Lord, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light on my path.“
Evidently, when God starts to prune and cut away those things or people from our lives, He doesn’t say that we will see everything He has planne, but we will see enough for the next step.
In closing, I’d like to share John 15:7; it says, ” If we remain in Him and His Word in us- ask whatever we want and it is done.“
Ask for discernment, peace, and strength to embrace the prune.
Thanks for reading!
Real quick, and I’ll expand a little bit more about how Katrina’s post can apply to you in the new year! If you aren’t signed up for my email list, then you are missing out on exclusive content and updates from Sarah.Mozingo.com and a great source of inspiration and encouragement throughout the week!
Umm, AHHMAZING! I love how Katrina is not afraid to talk about these not-so-fun topics that come with maturing in our faith and boldy shares Biblical truth.
I love how Katrina encouraged us that God is pruning us to help us be more fruitful – by cutting away what isn’t holy and not edifying Him. Whether it be a toxic relationship or even something small, like watching horror movies, God calls us to a higher purpose and into a deeper relationship with Him.
He asked us to let go of these things, because He knows what is best for us and wants us to live holy and go from glory to glory until we meet Him face to face (2 Corinthians 3:18). We can only achieve this by being obedient and trusting our Creator to lead us.
I hope to encourage you in 2020 when God begins to prune things in your life, don’t resist and trust Him. His plan for your life is greater than anything you may have imagined (Jeremiah 29:11).
To catch more from Katrina, remember to follow her social media platforms that are linked below!
Instagram | @katrina.littlepage
Facebook | @trina.littlepage.7
If you like what I share, please follow @sarahfordmozingo on Facebook and Instagram!
If you’d like to read more about obedience and maturing in your faith, head to my blog post, “Submitting to Leadership!“
SarahMozingo.com 
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