Ants

By Cheri Cowell –

“As boring as watching ants” the saying goes. It is obvious the person who created this saying never watched ants. Have you? They are fascinating. I was weeding the other day and came across an ant bed. As I paused to watch them I was struck by how busy they were, each one doing his or her own job, not caring what the other ants were up to. They seemed to be driven by a natural instinct to forge ahead no matter what obstacles were laid before them. To test this theory, I created a large log barrier in their path, and without missing a step they discovered ways around the obstacle. They continued in their pursuit of food and other things, which they dutifully carried into their home. God wants us to be more like ants, dutifully carrying out our jobs in spite of the obstacles that may come our way.

Proverbs is a collection of writings from the wise men or teachers from the time of Solomon to the time of Hezekiah in 8 B.C. This section is about one of the pet peeves of the wise men: laziness. They believed slothfulness, as it was called, only led to failure and poverty. It was a wise man that would take a lesson from the ants and work hard even if no one was around to see what they were doing.

PRAYER: God, help me become like an ant today, busy at the tasks I am given while leaving the results up to You. No matter what obstacles may come my way; I want to be found busy doing the work of You, heavenly Father, when Your Son returns once again.

“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” (Proverbs 6:6-8 NLT).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. In addition to her books and articles, you can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional at www.CheriCowell.com/.