*To hear the audio version of this devotion, CLICK HERE.

I was talking to my mother yesterday about how my life has shifted. I remember when I was newly married, had small children, and was trying to juggle the demands of daily living, ministry, and entrepreneurship with a young family in tow.

Now I am in a different space. I’ve been married 25 years. All the Hobbs children are in their twenties—except our youngest son, Kaleb, who turns 18 next March. But it seems like not too long ago that I was buying pampers, onesies, and baby food.

How quickly time flies!

When I look in my children’s faces, I still see babies, but they aren’t babies any more. When I look at hubby’s salt and pepper beard and see the rapidly multiplying grays in my own hair, I realize, neither Kenya nor I are spring chickens anymore. We are grown-grown!

We have entered a different phase of life which requires us to shift. The conversations with our children are different because they have new concerns and life decisions to make. My openness and availability to do things is greater, since I don’t have to coordinate my schedule with a sitter or try to handle business with a baby on my hip. Not long ago, I couldn’t imagine having this level of freedom!

Previously, there were opportunities I couldn’t take advantage of, projects I couldn’t take on, and time-consuming ventures I had to put off for another time. Though the offers were coming in, I wasn’t in the right position—or season—to accept them.

I frequently tell you that timing is everything. When I was in my twenties, I didn’t get that. I was ambitious to a fault. There were many things I wanted to have and accomplish right then and there. The idea of waiting annoyed me, and I worked myself ragged trying to do everything.

When I wanted something and it wasn’t happening fast enough, I demanded to know, why not now?

Bless my little naïve heart. I didn’t have enough wisdom, experience—or enough available time in my schedule for that matter—to tackle such big responsibilities. I was frustrated a lot of times back then, because I didn’t appreciate the character-building impact that waiting has on us or how much easier it is to do stuff in the right season.

As a young, overly ambitious, impatient, Type A personality, I felt like quicker was always better, and now was always preferable to later. But, how I felt didn’t matter. Frustrated or not, God didn’t get in a rush because I was in a hurry. He didn’t accommodate my timeline to appease me or calm my temperamental mood. Like the all-wise, loving Father He is, the Lord made me wait. He grew me up by delaying dreams and denying me the instant gratification I desperately craved.

Now, I am in a different phase—again. Waiting season is over in a lot of areas. God has been dealing with me to seize the day, walk through the open doors, embrace the expansion, and say yes to the opportunities that are coming faster than I feel like I can manage at times.

Whew!

For a moment, I want you to put yourself in my shoes and see why this season of expedited breakthroughs—what we’re calling our season of next— feels disconcerting for me.

In 2019, after my mini stroke and brain trauma, God had me offloading a bunch of things, clearing my plate, and reducing the intensity of my schedule. I was in a downsizing season. My capacity was way more limited than it had ever been, so I had to learn to be still which was one of the hardest things in the world to do.

Before brain trauma, I was busy and deeply immersed in the work of the Kingdom. I had well surpassed the age of my early twenties, and things greatly flourished for me. I was always doing something, traveling somewhere, ministering to someone, and starting or completing a project. I’d have more than one ministry obligation to fulfill in two entirely different states in the span of 24 hours. My calendar was chaotic and hectic, and I loved it that way. God had given me the grace to meet the demands He had placed upon me at that time.

When my season shifted to a much slower pace due to an unexpected medical emergency, I felt dismayed and discouraged. I cried many tears and did not understand why God had shelved and sequestered me.

 Lord, what are You doing? I wondered.

Fast forward four years later. That’s how we get to the here and now. I have since adapted to and even learned to like certain aspects of the much slower pace. I have adjusted to and accepted the downsizing of my life. And now, God has come in again and stirred the nest of my comfort zone to force me to take flight. I’m stepping into a season of increase again, but what once felt familiar feels foreign. I have entered my season of next which feels new and jolting.

Ready or not, though, God spoke to me early in the morning last week and said, “Your season of pruning is over. Now, it is your season to bear much fruit.”

When He said this to me, He also dropped John 15 in my spirit, where Jesus explains a Kingdom strategy designed to make fruitful servants even more fruitful and productive. Scripture teaches us that when a branch bears fruit, the Lord prunes or cuts it, so it will produce even more fruit.

Now, Jesus’s words in John 15:1-5 are spoken during the final hours before His crucifixion, so this teaching was given as part of His farewell discourse. He addresses not only His disciples but also speaks directly to us as believers today. The central message here is that our spiritual growth depends on our connection to Jesus, just as branches depend on their connection to the vine for nourishment. When we maintain a close relationship with Jesus, God the Father acts as the gardener, pruning us and removing the non-productive aspects of our lives so that we can bear more fruit for His Kingdom.

Pruning is the process of removing certain parts of a plant – such as dead or damaged branches, twigs, buds, or roots – to help stimulate healthy growth and improve overall structure. In doing so, the plant has a greater chance of producing more bountiful fruits and beautiful blossoms. In essence, the act of pruning allows the good parts of a tree to thrive by eliminating what's holding it back.

When I went through that recent ordeal that sidelined me for years, I felt more unfruitful and unproductive than I had in years. But God was just getting rid of some dead weight and some things that were attached to me that were holding me back from stepping into a new season of expedited breakthroughs.

He had to lighten my load and clear my plate to make room for the new things He was about to do. A shifting season was coming, but I didn’t know it.

Somebody receiving this message right now is in a pruning season, and God sent me to tell you that the downsizing comes before the expansion. The delay comes before the expedited breakthrough. Your destiny is still on course. Your blessings are still on the way. God is still going to do what He promised and give you more than you were even expecting! The greater the pruning in this season, the greater the productivity is in the next season.

God told me to tell you that your next will be greater! I know you may feel discouraged as you undergo hardships or encounters with difficult situations. Despite these challenging moments, you must remind yourself that this pruning process is working for your benefit. It’s just setting you up for greater, that’s all.

It’s a good thing, friend.

Grapevines, if left untended and allowed to grow without guidance, will sprawl out in all directions and create expansive canopies filled with lush, green leaves. Although the appearance of these leaves may initially suggest vigor and vitality, they unfortunately result in a meager harvest of fruit. Since the point of a grapevine is to bear fruit, what is the point in sprouting an abundance of green leaves that appear to be healthy, if there is only minimal fruit production?

See, God’s people are His vineyard—something Scripture teaches us in Isaiah 5:1-7 and Psalm 80:8-19. And He cares for His vineyard, which is us, by tending to us constantly and helping position us for maximize growth and a major harvest.

And that’s what’s coming next for you!

The cutting away has been necessary for your bigger blessings. Greater favor. Expanded territory. Quicker breakthroughs. Plentiful harvests. Increased opportunities. Broader reach. Higher platforms. Miraculous manifestation.

So don’t be discouraged by the pruning. The downsizing. The sickness. The setback. The layoff. The separation. The abandonment. The delay. The disappointing outcome. The decrease.

God said, your next will be greater. Your small beginning is temporary. Better is on the way for you. A new season of transformation, elevation, expansion, and increase is on its way.

To confirm this word from the Lord, I’m stirring Job 8:7 ESV as the sweetener in your cup of inspiration, which says, “And though your beginning was small, your latter days will be very great.”

As you drink down the contents of your cup, shake off discouragement. Say no to a defeatist mindset. Tap into your faith, and praise God for what’s coming next. It will be so much greater than you imagined!

Now let’s pray.

God, I pray Ephesians 3:20-21, “Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

If you desire prayer, please allow me, along with my intercessory prayer team, to stand in faith with you for breakthrough. We would be so honored. We have seen God work over and over again. There is power in agreement. Click here to request prayer now.

As always, thanks for reading and until next time... may today's cup of inspiration uplift, encourage, and empower you!