A Time to Cut Back

My husband spent his weekend on this tractor cutting back this land. He sent this competed picture to me, satisfied in his efforts. He wasn’t worried that he had ruined this field. He knew he had cut it back for its good, for its health.

My mind immediately retrieved Ecclesiastes 3. There is a time for everything. “A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. A time to tear down and a time to build up.” I wondered if Ecclesiastes 3 were to have one more phrase, would it be this: “A time to grow like crazy and a time to be cut back.”

Being cut back is harder than growing like crazy. I don’t prefer it. Let’s be real, it hurts and we also wonder if we will grow back. But, we see referenced all through scripture, we cannot grow unless we are cut back to make us healthier.

Friends, we are not yet what we will become. I am certain that in each and every deliberate cut, God is reminding us where healthy life comes from, from Christ alone. Cutbacks do not deem us useless, rather they remind us that God is the source of any life in us. Cutbacks do not mean that our best days are behind us. They serve to ensure that our healthiest days are in front of us.

Just wanted to remind you as I remind myself. Our faithful God is not done with you and me. Even if we have felt the deep cuts, He is certain to overpower that sting with His abundant growth. It will come. He has promised. It may be slow. It may feel stagnant, but “at the right time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Mysti Chustz has been following Jesus since she was six years old.
• She is a wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend. Her most favorite roles are being wife to Philip and mama to Coleman, Mary Lamar, and Clay.
• If one verse was used to describe her life, it would be Philippians 1:6. “Be confident of this, the One who starts the work in you is faithful to complete the work in you.”