“Oh no, the Ants are back again,” I sighed as I took the ant spray and began to fight back against the Ants in our kitchen. It seems we have a never ending war against the Ants in our kitchen and definitely we don’t find them welcome there!Today I want to share with you some fascinating facts about ants and we will also learn some lessons from them for us as soul winners too.
Did you know that there are an estimated 1-10 quadrillion ants in our world today? Now that number is not even comprehendable! The total mass of all the Ants in the entire world is equal to the entire human race!
Did you know that there are ants in every part of the world except Antarctica and a few islands like Iceland and Greenland?
Did you know that there are 22,000 species of ants in the world and 2,500 of them are in africa? Africa has the most numbers of species of ants in the whole world!
Did you know the largest ant was 6 cm long? That’s a big ant! However most ants are from .75 mm to 52 mm.
What color are most ants? Red or black but a few are green!
How long do ants live? That depends on whether it is a queen or a worker ant. Queen ants can live up to 30 years and worker ants live only 1-3 years. You can see who does most of the work!
Ants are very useful creatures in many ways – just not in the kitchen or hospital! But wait in some places in Africa, they use army ants for surgery! They pull the wound together tightly and apply army ants to it and the ant grabs one piece of each side of the wound and clamps it shut with its mighty jaws. Then they cut the Ants body off and the head and jaw keep the wound shut until it heals! Not exactly the surgery I would wish for!
The Bible talks about the ant in Proverbs. Proverbs 6:6-8 – “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”
So the Bible tells us to consider the ant and see what lessons we can learn from it! Today we want to look at 7 lessons we can learn from the ants.
1. Ants are diligent hardworkers.
Have you ever seen a lazy ant? I don’t think so! Anytime you see an ant, they are always busy doing something, whether that’s looking for food or carrying food or whatever. The Bible reminds the sluggard (the lazy man) to consider the ways of the ant and learn to be diligent and hardworking.
Are you a diligent hardworking soul winner? Do others know you as a relaxed lazy person or as a diligent hard worker? Are you careful to use even your little moments here and there to be diligent?“Only let the moments be treasured.... The time spent in traveling; ... the moments of waiting for meals, waiting for those who are tardy in keeping an appointment,—if a book were kept at hand, and these fragments of time were improved in study, reading, or careful thought, what might not be accomplished!” —Christ’s Object Lessons, 343, 344.
Let’s be like the diligent ant! Let’s not be like the lazy grasshopper in the story Aesop tells. The lazy grasshopper came and asked the busy ants for food when it was almost winter. They were busy storing the last food they had gathered for winter. They asked him what he was doing in the summer while they were working and he said, making music and they said sorry – none of our food is for you and left him to starve. Truly it pays to be diligent! Are you diligent in doing God’s work? Let’s learn the second lesson from the ants.
2. Ants need no boss for they know exactly what to do.
Do the ants have a boss (or teacher) standing over them, guiding them what to do and telling them step by step the instructions? No!! They know just want to do themselves and jump into it! Are you a person who can see what needs to be done and does it without being told? Or are you someone who needs to be told step by step what to do? Remember Eccl. 9:10?
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…”
“God has no use for lazy men in His cause; He wants thoughtful, kind, affectionate, earnest workers.”—Testimonies for the Church 4:411.
Lazy men don’t like to work. They can never see what should be done and only do it if someone tells them. Friends, let’s do our work cheerfully and diligently without being told! Now let’s learn our next lesson from the ants.
3. Ants are not afraid to carry heavy loads.
How about us? Do we look at a task and say – oh that’s too hard! It can’t be done, it can’t be done? Or do we say – this is the work before me; I will do my best to do it the best I can? As a soul winner we may look at various areas of the world and say – oh the gospel can never go there. Or I could never go there as a missionary. But if God sends you there, then don’t look at the Giants in the land as the 10 spies did! Be a Caleb or Joshua today that will get up and do great things for God! Yes the territory may be hard, yes the people aren’t receptive, yes the people reject you, but determine I shall conquer this field for the Lord!
“In the name of the Lord, with the untiring perseverance and unflagging zeal that Christ brought into His labors, we are to carry forward the work of the Lord.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:25.
Are you willing to do hard and great things for God? Let’s be like the tiny ants! Our next lesson is this one.
4. Ants don’t give up easily
As the saying goes, if you don’t succeed at first, try, try again! Isn’t that what the ants do? If they have found food, they persist on making sure they find a way to carry it away and take it home with them. I watched ants one time trying to carry a big dead spider and it was so big and heavy for them, but they kept pulling and pushing and finally after much effort and determination, they got the spider to their home. How about us? Do we give up easily when the going gets tough? Oh, this work is not for me….. people don’t like the bible studies I’m offering. ….. it’s so hot out here…… this area is too hard….
“Courage, energy, and perseverance they must possess. Though apparent impossibilities obstruct their way, by His grace they are to go forward. Instead of deploring difficulties, they are called upon to surmount them. They are to despair of nothing, and to hope for everything. With the golden chain of His matchless love, Christ had bound them to the throne of God. It is His purpose that the highest influence in the universe, emanating from the Source of all power, shall be theirs. They are to have power to resist evil, power that neither earth, nor death, nor hell can master, power that will enable them to overcome as Christ overcame.” —Gospel Workers, 39.
We need to press forward, doing Gods work no matter how big the challenges are and not give up easily or get discouraged. God will surely help us! When the ants know there is food in a certain area, they will keep on coming back, no matter how hard you try to stop them! They know they will get something there if they are persistent.
How about us? When we think an area is unfruitful and we get little results, do we give up and quit? Or do we know that God has put us there for a reason and he will surely give us souls to win for Him? Let’s be like the tiny ant! Or next lesson is:
5. Ants are patient
They don’t mind waiting for the food. They wait until they think you’re not around and out they come! They will be as patient as it takes to find the food they need. Are you a patient person? Patient with your interests? Patient with the mistakes or slowness of your partner? God wants us to be patient soul winners for Him!
“Work disinterestedly, lovingly, patiently, for all with whom you are brought into contact. Show no impatience. Utter not one unkind word. Let the love of Christ be in your hearts, the law of kindness on your lips.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:41.
Let’s be patient like the ants! Our next lesson is:
6. Ants share to others the good news they find.
When one ant finds food, he doesn’t keep the good news to himself. He either carries some of it back with him to show what he found, or he hurried back to the home to tell the others the good news that food has been found! Is that what we do?
God has been so good to us in giving us the knowledge of the gospel and his truths but do we keep all this good news to ourselves? We must take it and share with others! It’s like the story of the 4 starving lepers outside the gate of Samaria who found food in the Syrian camp and enjoyed their fill of goodies and then realized they needed to go and tell others the good news! May we have the same zeal to go and tell others what Jesus has done for us and how He has helped us!
“The Lord demands that in His servants shall be found a spirit that is quick to feel the value of souls, quick to discern the duties to be done, quick to respond to the obligations that the Lord lays upon them.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:123
Let’s be like the busy ant and share to others the good news God has blessed us with! Our last lesson from the ants is:
7. Ants work together with others well.
They don’t fight and argue over who found the food and this is my area and don’t touch it! They don’t have an independent spirit. Once they find something good, they tell it to others and encourage them to come and help them! And when they get together to move a big piece of food, there is no fighting amongst themselves for how it ought to be done – his way or my way. They all get together peacefully and work in unity to get the job done.
How about us? Do we pick and fight with our partner or people around us? Do we want to keep all the blessings and benefits to ourselves? We must be willing to share and help others and work well with others. If we can never get along with anyone and always fight and argue with them, how can god use us effectively?“As a people we lose much by lack of sympathy and sociability with one another. He who talks of independence and shuts himself up to himself, is not filling the position that God designed he should. We are children of God, mutually dependent upon one another for happiness. The claims of God and of humanity are upon us. We must all act our part in this life. It is the proper cultivation of the social elements of our nature that brings us into sympathy with our brethren, and affords us happiness in our efforts to bless others.”—Testimonies 4:71, 72.
Let’s be like the little ant and work in unity with those around us!
So there we have the 7 lessons from the ants! May God help us to be diligent, hardworking soul winners for Him!
