Twig Girdlers
John 15:4-5
I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much fruit. However, apart from Me you can do nothing.
Last summer as we were driving down the five miles of dirt road to our house my husband pointed out one of the many Mesquite trees that we have on the ranch and said, “Look, a Mesquite twig girdler!” Of course, being the naïve East Texas girl that I am I said, “What in the world is a twig girdler?” As I looked at the tree I could see several branches that were covered with brown, dead leaves which were in stark contrast to its lush green foliage. Upon closer inspection Robert showed me a small ring around a finger sized branch. He told me that it was a made by a tiny worm that ate away the bark, cutting it off from its life source.
I have often thought of those twig girdlers and how they relate to the things that cut me off from my life source. To me these can be sin, unforgiveness, distractions, busyness or whatever it is that subtly eats away at my heart and keeps me from deep communion and obedience to my heavenly Father. Often I can’t even see that these things have encircled me, choking off the life flow of God within me, causing my fruit to rot. If my twig girdlers are not removed eventually I will drop off the vine dead to the very life giving presence of God.
What are the twig girdlers of your life? What is robbing you of the very life source that you need to bear good fruit? A strong dose of the Word and an act of obedience to it will cause you to become a vital branch of the vine and produce good fruit for the kingdom of God.
I challenge you to identify those twig girdlers in your life and eradicate them so you can stay connected to the vine and bear much fruit for the Kingdom.
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