Broken Ants
This morning I wanted to sleep in. The week of work was exhausting, and the thought of no free Saturdays in the near future made me want to stay in bed all day. But I woke up at 5:30.
Then I saw a tiny ant crawling across my pillow. So I flicked it.
Next I got out my Bible and some other books to start my morning. I sat there awhile and talked to the Father about everything that is stressing me out. Then I read this out of a book called, “God Calling,” by A.J. Russell:
“You must trust to the end. You must be ready to go on trusting to the last hour. You must know even when you cannot see… You must be ready, like My servant Abraham, to climb the very Hill of Sacrifice, to go to the very last moment, before you see My Deliverance. This final test has to come to all who walk by Faith. You must rely on Me alone. Look to no other arm; look for no other help. Trust in the Spirit Forces of the Unseen, not in those you see. Trust and fear not.”
With a sigh, I put the book down and plopped my head back on the pillow. Then I saw the ant again. It wasn’t moving. Dang. I killed it.
Then the ant revived and started rolling around. Its abdomen was torqued oddly, and it seemed to be missing at least one leg. But it just kept writhing until it was righted. And then it started walking. I watched it for at least 20 minutes. It would walk full speed, then belly-up, kick, and roll around until it got turned over, then keep walking as if nothing was wrong (even though its abdomen was clearly skewed 45 degrees off center.)
I remember once on Independence Day when I was a kid, we had stuck Black Cat firecrackers down a fire ant hole and set them off. I remember watching with curiosity as the ant colony scrambled to begin pulling mangled ants and paper pieces out of the hole. I decided to choose one ant and follow it. It walked far down an ant highway, and I just kept thinking about what you could learn from an ant if you followed it all day. Dad then walked over and asked what I was doing. I told him that I thought I could learn a lot from an ant. He told me that I wasn’t the first person who had a revelation like that, and he shared with me some passages from Proverbs.
So this morning, I decided to re-read passages about ants.
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep?” – Proverbs 6:6-9
I’m going to choose to believe that God is not using that passage to call me a sluggard this morning, considering I just worked 75 hours this week and got up at 5:30 today. (It is funny timing, however.) But it is interesting to consider that the ant has no commander, yet it still works hard. And I see that with the ant on my pillow this morning. Not even a destroyed body was stopping it from continuing on its mission…without anyone forcing it to do so.
And this one:
“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in summer…” – Proverbs 30:24-25
These days, it seems like my prayers consist primarily of begging for wisdom to deal with life well. This verse says that four things on earth are not just wise but extremely wise. Ants, coneys, locusts and lizards certainly wouldn’t have been my top four guesses. But then again, maybe that’s why I still have no wise answers to my questions.
I guess I need to spend some more time thinking about the wisdom of these simple creatures. But one thing is clear to me this morning. That single, persevering, broken-bodied ant on my pillow was the perfect analogy of what I read from Russell today:
“You must be ready…to climb the very Hill of Sacrifice, to go to the very last moment, before you see My Deliverance…You must rely on Me alone. Look to no other arm; look for no other help.”
It has no other ant commanders telling it to press on (Prov 6:6) It just keeps going because it’s innate to do so. Really, I’ve got it a lot better than that. I don’t think it’s really that innate to press on in difficulty. And for me, it really is innate to look for human “arms” to help. But the difference is that I have a Deliverer. He walks with my broken body, healing and redeeming it as I go, and extending a Divine arm far more powerful and steady than all the other ones.
OK. It’s time to get up and get going. Thanks, ant, for directing my eyes to the One who walks by me and gives me reason to press on.
It is inspiring to read your posts, Jen, as they always speak to my own situation and I know God is using you to touch more than the people of Bandung. I am continually humbled by the reminder that the student has become the teacher.
Most excellent lesson, My friend! Thank you for sharing. I needed to hear that.
as a new mommy, I often feel like a “sluggard”, when in reality, I’m very busy….but I, too, have much to learn from the ants and HIS WORD. I love you.
Terimakasih, Jen! saya sangat diberkati membaca itu. Membuat air mata saya jatuh mengingat saya sering sekali mudah putus asa dan menjadi patah semangat. Saya akan pulang dan setiap kali melihat semut saya akan ingat pelajaran ini. God bless you, dear friend!