I sat at work early one morning, waiting for my cup of coffee to work its magic. I stared absent-mindedly at my computer. Conscious thought returned as I noticed a large ant crawling up the screen.
The verse which says, Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: sprang to my mind. Here was the Lord chastening me for my sluggardly ways. I watched as the ant deliberately made its way to the top of my screen, tried to climb over the bezel, and fell back to the bottom. Undeterred, he tried again and again. I could not help but admire him for his determination. Perhaps if I tried that hard at my obstacles in life, I could overcome them, too. The ant’s lesson seemed clear.
Just as I shifted my focus back to work, however, my opinion of the ant changed entirely. After his fourth climb up and his fourth fall back down, he simply FLEW to the top. That ant, whose hard work I had just mentally applauded, had been wasting his energy the entire time. All that work—trying over and over to climb to the top—was pointless because he had wings!
I suppose I should say rather that SHE had wings because I recognized in this ant’s character a distinct womanly trait. How often do we women stress ourselves to our utmost, trying desperately to overcome life’s obstacles? Somehow, in all our work, turmoil, and determination, we forget that God has given us wings.
Every obstacle, big or small, is immensely harder when we are relying on our own strength. There are two results of this: either we fail to reach the top and become discouraged or we make it up to the top in our own strength and become prideful. Either way, our energy is wasted. God will never get the glory when we climb in our own strength.
Isaiah 40:31 tells us, But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
No matter the difficulty, God has promised that if we wait on Him, He will renew our strength so that we can walk, run, and yes, even fly in His power.
Today, I ask that we consider the ways of my foolish ant friend and be wise. Instead of trying to tackle life’s obstacles alone with unnecessary effort and stress, we can allow God to carry us through the impossible. In the end, our lives will be a testimony to others of all God can do when we trust in His power to get us to the top!
by Abigail Medford
