Proverbs6:6-11

⁶ Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,
⁷ Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,
⁸ Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.
⁹ How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
¹⁰ “A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to ^[c]rest”—
¹¹ Your poverty will come in like a ^[d]vagabond
And your need like ^[e]an armed man.

     When was the last time you thought about the story with the ant and the grasshopper? Oh my goodness, that takes me back.   We all know the story preparation, planning and hard work will see you through the hard times.   Something I never thought of before is that the ant, with no chief, officer or ruler, has self discipline and prepares the way.   This has so many practical implications in our day to day- not to be lazy and let hardships sneak up on us.  Be prepared for life’s curve balls.

     What about the self discipline of relationship with God?  Truly, we have our own internal beings to wrestle into obedience.  The Holy Spirit calls to us, and it is up to us wether we roll over and hit the snooze button or catch the newest episode of “The Middle”, rather than spending time with Him.

How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you rise from your sleep?

When we are doing life without the Spirit of God, I think we are sluggish, asleep, empty.  To do life through the Spirit is to operate out of the fruits of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit and to be fully alive in Christ Jesus.

Like the 10 virgins, found with no oil in their lamp.  They started out with oil, they just ran out.  How have you been keeping your lamp full?

Your poverty will come in like a ^[d]vagabond
And your need like ^[e]an armed man.

Satan lurks at our door, ready to pounce like a hungry lion on us.  Our lamps full, keep us safe and in the bridal chamber waiting for our groom. A few days out of His presence, turns into a few weeks, until you can remember a time when you read your Bible daily…with a reminiscent look you remember yesterday, as your needs overtake you like an armed man.

The ant is interesting. To consider him a teacher in a practical sense is prudent…to reflect further on the spiritual is interesting. We have all grown up with the grasshopper and the ant – what does the story mean to you now, as you are older and you have more wisdom under your belt?