Consider the Ant

Note: There are days when I read the verses assigned to that day of the year in the Life Journal, and don't find anything applicable for my life in that moment. I find that a few verses in Ezekiel and Revelation fall into that category more frequently than say...Philippians. When this happens I pick a chapter in Proverbs (I pick whatever chapter corresponds to the day of the month I am in) and add it to my reading. Therefore...today is a Proverbs day. :)

Scripture
Proverbs 6:6 - You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely, let it teach you a thing or two.

Observation
We have ants at our house. Though we've seen them in the kitchen, the living room and the bathroom, most of the time they can be found in the concrete seam where the garage meets the driveway. Every few weeks I'll walk outside and see an ant orgy going on, and gleefully get the ant killer and spray the heck out of them. Later I clean up the leftover carcases and we don't see them again for a few weeks. And then the cycle begins again. As I consider the ant, three things popped into my mind today when I read this passage.

1. Ants are persistent. They persevere. Ants face bigger than life challenges every day of their existence. And, just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with just one step, a colony teeming with life begins by moving one grain of sand/dirt over and over. Rather than being focused on the big picture, which is often too overwhelming, they focus on the step in front of them. And over time, have a colony the size of my driveway.

2. Ants are resistent. They don't let anything stop them. You'd think that they'd stop coming up in the same place. They don't let a little persecution stop them. They just keep doing what instinct tells them to do. Even if it puts them in a dangerous relationship with me.

3. Ants are consistent. They are focused. Each ant has a role to play in the colony, and plays it with focus. You don't find the little worker ant trying to lay the eggs for the queen. The scout ants don't spent time carving out the homestead.

Application
I need these characteristics in my life. Even today, my list of things to get done is almost overwhelming. I need to tackle it one item at a time. In the face of opposition, I need to resist. I know what God has called me to. I can't let a little "bug spray" stop me. And, I need to consistently do the things God has gifted me to do and stop doing the things he hasn't...which is easier said than done.

Prayer
Father, give me wisdom to apply these three principles in my life.