"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 gathered her food in the harvest."
There is a tremendous lesson available to the Christian who will observe the ant's qualities and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate them in his spirit.
These spiritual qualities which are described in the ant can be attained by the person who will put forth the effort to understand God's Word. He has said, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you (James 4:8).
He will help you to become the diligent person you want to be - the person who receives reward because he is committed to the Word of God and seeks to know Him and His ways.
God is reaching out to lift you into a position of deep, consistent communion with Him. It is when you reach this stage of spiritual development that you begin to comprehend the wisdom of God in an ever-increasing depth.
The slothful person never progresses very far. He is a spiritual sluggard. He may want the right things, but he will not put out the effort necessary to meditate in the Word of God in order to find out the secrets of receiving those things.
He does not understand that there are spiritual principles to receiving from God. He must meditate and seek God's wisdom, and then he will discover how to make successful decisions.
Proverbs 13:4 says, "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing." Desire is an important first step to receiving in applying God's Word, however, to release God's creative power from your spirit and to bring that desire into reality.
One afternoon I received a call from a man who was in desperate need of a job. He wanted some guidance to know whether he should remain where he was living at that time or move to another city to seek employment. His decision had to be made within two weeks.
After discussing the matter, I directed him to set aside time each day to seek God in prayer and in the Word. He needed to have a peace within himself that his steps were being ordered of the Lord.
About ten days later, I received another call from this man. He sounded more desperate than ever. He did not know what to do, and there were only four days left in which to make the decision. When I asked what direction he had received from God, his answer was surprising…and yet so typical. He said, "Well, I have not been able to set aside that time for prayer."
No wonder he didn't know what to do.
He had made no effort to find the answer for himself. He wanted someone else to hear from God for him. He had not considered God as his source of wisdom. May we be wise and learn from his mistake.
Excerpt permission granted by Dennis Burke Ministries