I have had this post in my head – every time I see ants.  And in this valley, that is a lot.  What impressed me most is their dedication and determination for a goal.  I come across paths of ants that make a dark line across my path.  And I stand and watch.  Sometimes I even put a stick in their way or a pile of sand to watch what they will do.  I try to change their path and confuse them.  And always, I find that they are persistent towards their goal.  And I find myself thinking that I could really learn from these ants.

Isn’t that how we should be also?  Persistent towards your goal.  And so I find myself asking myself so many times – what is my goal?  How can we be more like these ants?  God has given me an assignment and for right now it is here… how do I do that well?  How can I have the determination of an ant?  How can I move forward even when challenges come my way?

I notice ants here also because of the annoyance that they are. Recently a friend of mine said, “I don’t really mind the ants except for the ones that move so fast.”  And I laughed internally because I cannot imagine liking ants.  Of any species.  They irritate me.  They burn my skin.  They bite me.  They make me itch.  For me it is impossible not to notice an ant on you – not for it’s size but by it’s bite.  I don’t think that we should be that annoying or that we should inflict venom upon people like the ants, but I do think that at times we are called to be noticed.  That we are called to be that thing that sticks out.  That encourages.  That scurries along undaunted by their task.

But even more than their persistence, what I think I like best about ants is that you never find them alone. No ant can exist by itself.  It is part of the colony as a whole.  Each ant with its own responsibility.  Each ant contributing to the overall goal.  Maybe that is what God had in mind when he created ants.  For them to serve as an example to us of ultimate teamwork.  United together.  I think it is impossible to find an ant alone.  Ants are found in the company of other ants.  And we as Christians are also called to this same task – to march on even when there are obstacles in our path.  Even when people come along and put  a stick along the path.  Together the ants work.  Together the ants fight.  They find themselves surrounded by support.

As I reflect this morning on the ants, I want to encourage those Christians around the world to remember – we are all in this together.  We are all serving and working and living with an ultimate goal in mind.  We need to be reminded of the hope that exists -the eternal hope.  And we need to stay united  – because there is nothing that the enemy wants more than to confuse us and take us off course.

Be blessed and remain steadfast like the ant!