LIFE LESSONS FROM THE ANT
What’s the first thing that crosses your mind when you think of an ant? For most people, the first thought is ‘yuck,’ or ‘eek’ – because an ant is a pest!
There are, though, some important life lessons one can learn from the ant. First, look at the verses below.
Proverbs 6:6-8 “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise. Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.” (NLT)
Proverbs 30:24-25 ‘There are four things on the earth that are small but unusually wise. Ants – they aren’t strong, but they store up food all summer.” (NLT)
A) Ants are self-driven.
That lone ant you see wandering around the house is not doing so aimlessly; it has a mission. It is looking for food, and once it finds it, it will alert the rest of the ants to come and help carry the loot. Now here’s the thing – this ant came searching of its own volition; nobody sent it out to look for food.
Many people wait to be shown what to do, how to do it and when to do it. That may be a good approach, but most successful people will tell you that they are self-driven. An inner push drives them to improve themselves, work smart and succeed.
In the same way, the Christian should not wait to be told to develop a deeper relationship with God. The desire to know God should come from within.
B) Ants are committed to the task.
Even without any form of leadership, ants keep working. Interestingly, each ant knows what his or her role is, and it does that task with zeal. Ants intuitively know that the work they do is for the benefit of the ant community.
Your community consists of your family, friends, workplace colleagues and church. In the workplace, you have your role, which is the task that you are hired to do. If you are not committed to your role, the organization cannot run smoothly.
It goes without saying that every Christian should know what he or she is supposed to do for the Lord. Sadly, many believers are clueless on their role in the body of Christ. The church cannot function efficiently unless every member takes up his or her role.
Ask God to show you what he wants you to do, and then be committed to its accomplishment.
C) Ants are wiser than they look.
That tiny, little black insect is a wise creature. It knows that when food is in plenty, it must be stored for seasons when there is none. It also knows how to attract its fellow ants to a lucrative food source.
Ants appear to understand the times and seasons better than people do. How many times have you seen people squander a windfall, rather than invest it? Just like an ant, a wise person should always store up resources during the good times in anticipation of the lean times.
The same applies to the Christian life. When things are going well, use that time to build your relationship with the Lord, so that when bad times come, you have a firm foundation to stand on.
D) Ants are determined to succeed.
Each ant can carry items that weigh twenty times its body weight. Though it is hard work, this ant makes sure it gets the load to the food store. After delivering its payload, it goes back for more! Ants work hard and determine to do a good job.
It’s too hard! I can’t do this! These words come out of many mouths when given a task that seems too hard to accomplish. If one adopts the mindset of the ant, however, no task is too difficult to achieve.
Are you feeling as if the Christian life is proving to be more of a challenge than you had imagined? Take heart, periods of discouragement are normal. If you purpose in your heart not to give up, God will give you the strength that you need.
As you start the week, keep the virtues of self-drive, commitment, wisdom and determination close. If you feel like you need a little encouragement, refer to the verse below to keep you going.
Philippians 4:13 “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (NLT)
Did you miss last week’s devotion? Check out the link below.
four-simple-lessons-from-psalm-37
Did you miss last week’s devotion? Check out the link below.
four-simple-lessons-from-psalm-37
Wow! What lessons to learn from the almost insignificant ant! May God help us to change our perspective about responsibility.