Go to the ant...

Go to the ant…

Yeah, ok I took that verse out of context, but it made a good title, ok? In actuality, what the Lord placed on my heart this morning has nothing to do with that verse, but He did use ants to bring another passage to my attention: 

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

And this passage in chapter 10 also:

 ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.

As I walked outside this morning, I stopped and noticed a long line of ants going from my tree in the backyard, to their massive hole underground where their nest is. Initially, I was annoyed. I have tried to get rid of this ant nest for the past two years, since I moved in here to no avail. They simply won’t die and I can't convince them to leave. As I watched them though, the Lord began to impress on my heart how this tiny nuisance in my backyard doesn't go unnoticed. That even as they work, the Lord is watching them. As small as they are. To us, or to me at least, to read the passages of the sparrows and how God watches them and cares for them is beautiful. Reading any passages about ants tho? God sees ants? And apparently cares for them as well. I can assure you you wouldn't find me caring for any ants or other insects for that matter and please keep them out of my house! But God, our great and loving heavenly Father, sees them, loves them, and cares for them. 

Going through hard times, It can be so easy to feel forgotten, not just by friends and family, but we can lie to ourselves and believe that even God has abandoned us. God, who created and cares about the little birds and the littlest ant, forgot about me. Me who He died to save, me who He awaits to commune with on a daily basis. He forgot. Friend, if this is a sentiment that Satan has fed you, I must remind you that it is a LIE! No matter how lonely the valley you walk feels, or how hard the circumstance, God is right by your side. He is watching over you and caring for you in the best possible way! I didn't say the most pleasant way, or the way that we want, but He is, I guarantee you, caring for you in the best way. 

The past several months have been increasingly difficult. I have been poked and prodded until my arms turned purple, I have had MRIs, I have seen nearly a dozen doctors, been hospitalized and in and out of Emergency rooms and traveled hundreds of miles to get medical care. I wish I could write this and say that I have never felt discouraged, that I never believed myself to have been abandoned or forgotten by God, alas, I am NOT a super-Christian… I know, I should be. 

Last week felt like the icing on the cake of suffering, if you will, when Lucas’ visa was denied. I felt like the entire world was collapsing around me. Yes, cue me being dramatic 

*cut to chicken little scene*

As I have processed what is going on, as my mind has raced through ‘worst case scenarios unlimited,’ I have seemingly forgotten the God of my tomorrows. The God who has placed me in the exact instance in which I find myself. I believe myself to be in the direct center of God's will which means, by default, that everything that goes on around me is within God’s will for my life. 

Romans 12: 2 

² And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

I love this verse in Portuguese, 

‘ ..boa, agradável, e perfeita vontade de Deus.’ 

That word, agradável, in Portuguese means pleasant or enjoyable. God's will is not supposed to be something that we feel we must endure or suffer, but something pleasant. That doesn't mean that every second of every day will be enjoyable and pleasant, but God's will for yours and my life is something good. 

So friend, I hope today that you can stop and take a look at the little things around you and remember that God loves you. It may be hard right now, or maybe you are enjoying that ‘agradável’ will of God today, but wherever you are, remember that He loves you, He sees you and He is the one holding your tomorrows.

-Beca