Prayer – Lord God, help me
to be responsible and wise with all that You provide. As it is written in
Proverbs 30:8…“give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to
satisfy my needs.” May all that I think, say and do reflect Your wisdom and
draw people to the Way the Truth and the Life…to You, Jesus.
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. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A
little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to
rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you
like an armed robber. Proverbs 6:6-11
Meditate. Consider God’s wisdom and listen to what He is saying.
The ants are all sleeping now—sequestered
underground, enjoying the fruits of their summer and fall labor. Did you
stockpile a harvest for this winter? How about a spiritual harvest? Are you
even now gathering the fruit of the spirit—sharing it with others? The ant doesn’t
share with anyone other than the ants in its anthill. Remember the Aesop’s tale
of The Ant and the Grasshopper?
The Aesop’s Fable about the ant and the grasshopper is one of my favorites. The ant is a wise, hard-working character. God Himself gave us this example—take a lesson from the ants. They collect what they need for their “family” or “community” ant hill to survive the winter. Are you like the ant? Out of necessity we all work to provide the food, clothes and shelter that are essential to life. Do you have a supply of food and water on hand for emergencies—or for use during a long winter when you are snowed in for several days? Be someone your family can depend on by planning ahead. Even just making menus for the month can be stress relieving. With a planned menu you can shop, knowing just what you need, and thus have everything on hand so you aren’t anxious during meal preparation time. Be like the ant—plan ahead.
Near where my family and I go camping there are a couple of huge ant mounds made of bits of bark and pine needles. We used to always like to check on those ant “hills” that are actually at least three feet tall. There are “highways” of ant trails that lead away from and back to the ant hills and we like to watch the ants go along those highways carrying their woodland treasures to their home. Once the kids put a marshmallow on top of their hill to see what they would do. It was still there a couple of days later. They are pretty wise insects—they want real food—not just sweets. No grasshoppers sitting around near our camp, but I’m sure they are not storing up food there the way that the ants were.
In
a similar manner, watch the behavior of some teens especially during the late
summer months.
A wise youth harvests in the
summer, but one who sleeps during harvest is a disgrace. Proverbs 10:5.
Young
people need to be taught work values early in life. By the time they are teens
their work ethics and habits have already been deeply instilled. Teach your
children well. Remember that your actions speak louder than words. Wise
words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards. Proverbs 12:14.
Hard work brings rewards, whether it is a cupboard full of food or a mind full
of memory verses—God rewards those who work for Him. Learn from those
hard-working ants as they planned ahead. Become wise.
Verse of Salvation ~ [Study the verses 1 Corinthians 1:18-31] But
to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the
power of God and the wisdom of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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