The
Lesson Of The Ant
A
biologist once was doing a study of ants. One day he watched a worker ant
carrying
a piece of straw. Compared to the ant's size and weight, that straw
must
have been a heavy and unwieldy load. But the ant kept working -- kept
carrying
his load.
After
a while the ant came to a large crack in the earth. He explored to the
left
and the right, but there was no way to go around -- and the crack was too
wide
and too deep to get across.
The
ant stood there on the brink of the precipice as though pondering the situation.
Then, he took the burdensome straw off his back. Stumbling, tumbling, and
straining,
somehow he managed to put one end of the straw on one side of the crack
and let it fall
across the span! Then the ant walked across the straw safely
to the other side.
With
a few tugs and strains, he pulled the straw across the crack, put it back
on
his back... and went on his way again! He triumphed by using his burden as a
bridge
to the other side.
What
a lesson for us!
In
this life we will have burdens. The Apostle Paul noted, For we that are in
this
tabernacle do groan, being burdened (2 Corinthians 5:4). But we need not be
unduly
crushed to the ground by our load if we allow the Lord and His strength
to
sustain us. The psalmist cried, Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall
sustain
thee (Psalm 55:22).
Jesus
said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly
in
heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden
is light (Matthew 1 1:28-30).
Did
you notice that Jesus did not say, "Come throw down your load and
walk
away with no burden at all. "He only promised to give us rest.
Then we are
to take on His yoke and pick up His burden.
And what kind of load is it? It
is a light yoke, an easy burden!
The
Lord has not promised that we will not have to work in this life. There is
no
guarantee that we will not face difficulties and trials. Nowhere does He tell
us
that the road will not be long or the night not so dark.
Rather,
He promises that where we go, He will go... and never will we be left
alone.
For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee (Hebrews
13:5).
And He also promised, Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the
world
(Matthew 28:20).
If
Jesus is with us, and His burden is always light, why do we get so loaded
down
at times? I think it is because we pick up the burdens of the past along
with
tomorrow's burden and add it to the load allotted for today.
John
Newton once wrote, "I compare the troubles which we have to undergo
in the
course of a year to a great bundle of fagots, far too large for us to lift. But
God
does not require us to carry the whole at once. He mercifully unties the
bundle
and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today, and then
another,
which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage
if we
would only take the burden appointed for us each day. But we choose
to increase
our troubles by carrying yesterday's stick over again today
and adding tomorrow's
burden to our load before we are required to carry it."
Jesus
says, "Come rest. Lay down yesterday's burden, and don't lift tomorrow's
load
yet. Just pick up today's burden... and it will be easy!"
And
like the resourceful ant, we may discover that at times we can use our
burden
to bridge the chasms in the path before us. It can literally become a
stepping-stone
to higher ground.
-Dr.
Rexella Van Impe
Image by honeybee2u.hubpages.com
