The Falling Branches

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have

their minds set on what that nature desires;

but those who live in accordance with

the Spirit have their minds set on

what the Spirit desires.”

Romans 8:5 (NIV)

Several years ago, we had the “ice storm of all time” hit our part of the state. Schools were closed, electricity was out for about a week, and everyone in our town scrambled to find ways to heat their homes.

Had it not been for so many problems due to the storm, the sheer beauty of ice on the trees would have been breathtaking. Instead, people found themselves with damage to their yards and trees because of the weight of the ice snapping one big limb after another and forcing each one to plummet toward the ground, leaving deep scars from the impact of the fall. My yard was not exempt from that damage.

A massive oak tree on the south side of my home was my best friend in the summer because of the shade it provided. The branches were huge, the tree majestic but now, unfortunately, the damage from the ice enormous.

As I began the process of cleaning up my yard after the storm, I discovered that a very large dead limb at the top of the oak tree had given in to the weight of the ice and had crashed to the ground, taking with it three healthy limbs in its downward fall.

Isn’t that what happens when we sin? One willful wrong word or thought or action can quickly spread to hurt everyone around us. We are very foolish if we think that our wrong choices will have no consequences and that people will not be hurt or relationships ruined.

“Yes, I am having an affair,” my friend confessed to me, “but it only affects the two of us. Nobody will get hurt.” My heart broke in two. Nobody get hurt? What about your husband and his wife and all the children and the fact that you have destroyed their trust by your actions?

One dead branch – an affair – fell and it took with it several once-healthy branches of spouses and children and trust and marriages.

A former student that I was encouraging to take a different path and stop using drugs took me by the arms and said “Listen, I know you care about me. I get it. But just leave me alone and let me do my drugs. Nobody is getting hurt. I’m fine. It’s my life.”  

And with each police report in the paper with his name in bold type, his family and friends who loved him become casualties from the dead branch of drugs.

What dead limbs do we have in our lives? Maybe it’s gossip or jealousy or an anger issue or always having to be right. Whatever they may be, the dead limbs in our lives can do unbelievable damage to our family, our friends, and even to people around us that we might not know well.

But they do something else, too. They also damage our relationship with God. Our gift from the Lord – the ability to communicate with Him – is broken when we engage in behavior that does not glorify Him or reflect His will for our lives. David knew that. He wrote in Psalm 66:18 “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened . . .”

David had found out the hard way that cherishing (taking pleasure in) behavior outside of the will of God results in heartache, a broken relationship with God and consequences. As the dead branch fell – lusting after Bathsheba, a married woman – it ultimately resulted in the death of David’s son.  A healthy branch, a son, taken down by a father’s dead branch choice.

I encourage you today, this very moment, to examine your life for any dead branches that are hiding in your life, threatening to come crashing down and taking healthy branches with them.

Please know that any focus outside of the will of God in your life will affect those around you and they will be hurt, or in some cases, even destroyed. And your relationship with God will be hurt as well.

Identify the dead limbs in your life and repent, as you give them to the Lord. Then kneel before Him as He removes each unhealthy branch and pulls you back into His presence.

Lord, forgive my self-centeredness and my focus on me. Forgive me for allowing sin to have a place in my life. Forgive me for thinking that I can do whatever I want without hurting those I love. Please give me strength and courage as I cut off any branches in my life that do not glorify and honor you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• What branches do you have in your life that you have been trying to hide from the Lord?

• Think through each branch. What could be the result of holding on to these branches? Loved ones hurt? Relationships destroyed? Is the branch worth the pain it may cause?

Application

• Dig into the Word and ask the Lord to show you those branches in your life that do not glorify Him.

• Make a list with the name of each branch and offer them all up to the Lord. Burn the list as your offering to God and your desire to reconnect with Him and His will for your life.

Power Verses

• Romans 8:5 (NIV) “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

• I Corinthians 10:31(NIV) “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

• Psalm 66:18 (NIV) “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. . .”