Proverbs 6:6-11 says, "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. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary comments on this passage, "Diligence in business is every man's wisdom and duty; not so much that he may attain worldly wealth, as that he may not be a burden to others, or a scandal to the church. The ants are more diligent than slothful men. We may learn wisdom from the meanest insects, and be shamed by them. Habits of indolence and indulgence grow upon people. Thus life runs to waste; and poverty, though at first at a distance, gradually draws near, like a traveller; and when it arrives, is like an armed man, too strong to be resisted. All this may be applied to the concerns of our souls. How many love their sleep of sin, and their dreams of worldly happiness! Shall we not seek to awaken such? Shall we not give diligence to secure our own salvation? (Pr 6:12-19)"
This concept of the diligence of the ant came to light, once again, for me yesterday as I was reading this passage in Proverbs 6 (Most days I read the "Proverb of the Day", i.e. December 6th, I read Proverbs 6; Today, December 7th, I read Proverbs 7, etc.). May this little insect, the ant, be a challenge to our hearts - Be diligent in your relationship with the Lord of glory!
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Hello, Lisa. I've heard a lot of good things about you through Emily. Thank you so much for your encouraging words. I really do appreciate them. You seem to have so much wisdom about different issues, and so I thank you for sharing some of it with me. I realize that every Christian goes through temptations, and as I was typing up the post, I remembered that verse that says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. How encouraging of a verse, yet so hard to obey. I am so thankful for the strength that God offers to me every day so that I CAN overcome satan and his temptations.
Thanks again, Lisa.
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