“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?”  Proverbs 6:6-11

Yesterday’s constant rainy weather has undoubtedly stirred up some of the little critters that live underground. Consider the ant, if you will. You don’t usually see them geared up with armor and helmets, but they are a unique army within God’s creation that we can learn from. This year I’m ready for their inevitable invasion. I’ve placed traps in various locations, knowing that they will soon appear to lap up some leftover honey or cookie crumbs that be laying around. These miniature insects are geared to working in teams to get things done.  They seem to be able to overcome amazing odds and can carry more weight than you’d imagine.

Ants don’t have a foreman or a sergeant telling them what to do – they just do it.  They do so out of necessity and follow their God given instincts.  They gather their food wherever they can.  When weather interferes, they find other sources.  When rain pushes their nests out of the ground and they are without a home – they build a new one. In my area of town, the soil is very sandy, so they don’t have a problem rebuilding.

What do we do in time of crisis or need?  Is our first inclination to turn to the Lord for help?  Most of the time, we try to figure things out for ourselves.  We have brains which usually help us work through things. Sometimes we ask others for help.  Those things aren’t bad in themselves, unless we grow dependent on them,

We’re warned in this Proverb against being lazy.  From past experience I can tell you that the ants in my house are not in the least bit sluggards.  They are very busy and extremely efficient.  It’s especially apparent when you place traps down to eliminate them.  They belly up to the bar and suck up as much as their itsy-bitsy bodies can hold and then scurry back to their buddies and share with them.  It may be a cruel thing to do to these smallest of God’s creatures, but I want my kitchen back!

There are so many lessons in these few verses, but I think one of the most important is that God doesn’t want us to depend on others for our sustenance.  He wants us to be industrious, like the ant, and to never give up – because even though our circumstances may seem overwhelming – He is always there to pick us up.

THANK YOU, JESUS, FOR ANOTHER DAY!