Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Journeys and Ants

Mt 4:18 And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.
:19 Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."
:20 They immediately left their nets and followed Him.
:21 Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets. He called them,
:22 and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.

The journey we are called to walk as Christians is not always easy. Sometimes it seems it would be easier to just give up. But when things are difficult, we can rest awhile and renew our strength. We need to rest awhile in the Lord, seek His rest, and His strength for the rest of the journey.

Only God knows where the path will lead us, but He is always with us on the journey. We are never alone.

Knowing He is with us makes the journey easier.

Ps 6:1 My son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger;
:2 you are snared by the words of your mouth; you are taken by the words of your mouth.
:3 So do this, my son, and deliver yourself; for you have come into the hand of your friend: go and humble yourself; plead with your friend.
:4 Give no sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids.
:5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, and like a bird from the hand of the fowler.
:6 Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise.
:7 Which, having no captain, overseer or ruler,
:8 provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.
:9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?
:10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep -
:11 so shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.

Off and on we have ant issues. Sugar ants (the little tiny ones) inside and regular ants outside. After a recent battle I thought of this verse about the ant and decided to check it out.

Verse 6 is directed tot he sluggard. Another way to say it would be it is directed to the lazy.

Proverbs is full of things said urgently. Above it says to not take on someone else's debt. That's good advice even today. He says get out of it NOW! Don't delay.

So back to the ants. Ants are anything but lazy. They work hard and work together. Ever watch them at work?

1. Ants take the initiative.

They don't have anyone over them telling them what to do, or how to act. They just do what needs to be done.

2. Ants plan in advance.

They are planners. They don't procrastinate. They don't have to worry about food in the winter, because they have gathered and preserved it already. Planning in advance can keep things running smoothly.

3. Ants work as a team.

Pr 30:24 There are four things which are little on the earth, but are exceedingly wise:
:25 the ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their food in the summer.

Notice it says ants aren't strong. They are tiny little things. We think of them as problems, even though it takes nothing to squash one. It's because they work as a team. We can handle one little ant, but when they work as a team and are many, it becomes a problem.

They do everything as a team. They each have their jobs. Some take care of babies, some gather food, some dig, some fight in protection. They each know their role, and do it for the good of each other and for their survival. They all have the same goal.

Our goal as Christians is to spread the gospel. We need to work as a team to get it done and not be lazy about it.

Let's learn from the ant so we can be wise in the end.

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