THE ANTS GO MARCHING

I want to dedicate this blog to the Yada Yadah Prayer Group in Des Moines, Iowa. May you find that you are not Chicken Christians and may you learn how to battle “Ants”.

Today it is about ants. Forget the chickens (see previous blog), I’m tired of being a Chicken Christian and I ready to move forward. Today, I’m defeating ants!

Recently I’ve had a battle with ants. You’ve probably had the same battle. You look down and see an ant. You know where there’s one, there are many more. My approach to this one ant is to kill it and hope there are no more. Even though I know better, this is my first approach. Well, soon I am killing several daily. So I wash down the counters, make sure not to leave food out, and keep killing ants. Surely once they see there is nothing to be had they will go away. If it was only that easy. After a week of cleaning counters and killing ants, I really cannot say who is winning this war. The lines of battle are fuzzy and I’m tired of killing ants. So, I do what I’ve been avoiding, I hunt down the source of the ant invasion. Could it be that there is something in the kitchen that is drawing them in? Here is where God intervenes. No, He doesn’t take care of my ant problem; rather He takes this opportunity to teach me a lesson. This lesson had 5 excellent points. Point #1 – when you see ants, there is always something that is drawing them in. In other words, when Satan is at work in your life, you need to look for the source. What is it that keeps drawing him in?

This isn’t the first time God has used a specific moment in my life to teach me a lesson. I remember one particular moment when I was on an airplane. I was returning home from a business trip when the airplane started that familiar shaking, bumping, and jerking. TURBULANCE! It is the one thing about flying I never got use to. This time it was bad and I got nervous. Fear began creeping in. God tells us that He does not give us the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT). He, also, tells us that our battle is not with flesh and blood, rather our battle is against the rulers of darkness and spiritual host of wickedness (Ephesians 6:12 NKJV). So, where does the fear come from? With approximately 365 “Fear Nots” in the Bible (depending on translation, at least one for every day of the year), why do I experience fear?

I’ll leave these questions for later blog and get back into the airplane. There I am sitting in my seat, gripped with fear, hoping no one notices, and praying. I’m so gripped by fear that the only prayer I can get out is the Lord’s Prayer. I’ve done this before. The Lord’s Prayer was what got me through. And, the Lord had always been faithful to still the plane. But that day was different. On that day I heard the Lord say, “Kind of like your life, isn’t it?” WOW! Was the Lord actually comparing my life to the turbulence? If He was (and He was), then I wasn’t doing so well with my one prayer, and my fear. Being jerked one way and then another, never knowing when, how hard, or how much was an accurate description of my life. Was He telling me that there is more to conquering the turbulence in my life than one prayer and fear? You bet! The Lord taught me to relax in the turbulence that day because on that day, He did not still the plane. In fact, it got worse. It wasn’t easy. I needed to learn to pray with confidence that God was going to keep me safe no matter what was happening around me. I had to learn that praying with confidence was not begging God or repeating a prayer over and over again. No, I needed to pray with the attitude that no matter what, God was in control. I sat on that turbulent plane all the way home and actually learned to relax while in the turbulence. I began to praise Him for who He is. I began to realize that my God was bigger than the turbulence. Too bad I didn’t learn how to apply it to my life after leaving that plane. Instead, I’m battling ants and once again God finds it necessary to use this situation to teach me another lesson. This time the lesson is about how to fight Satan without fear, and learning that he isn’t as big a foe as I thought he was.

So, now back to the ant battle. My search for the source leads me to the pantry. I know I need to take everything out and inspect each item. But, I am tired and I am tempted to just ignore it until morning. Here God makes point #2 – no matter how weary, I must continue to fight. For an ignored battle is only a larger battle later on. Had I waited until morning, there would have been more ants – more determined ants. So, I force myself to pull everything out of the cupboard regardless that it’s been a long day and I still need to make dinner. I ask for my husband’s help and dig in. Pause for point #3 – ask for help. We were never expected to battle alone. So, in the heart of the battle, find someone close to battle with you. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble”. We were NEVER meant to battle alone. And then it goes on to say in verse 12, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken”. Just to clarify, the third person in this verse is God.

My husband and I find the source and proceed to declare war on these little ants that seem to be taking so much of our time and attention. We clean out the cupboard and spread ant killer outside along the foundation of the house. You think this would end this war. Think again. It was after this that we learned the biggest lesson about ants. After removing the source and cleaning the pantry, the ants kept coming back. “Sounds a lot like your enemy”, I heard Him say. Yes it does. These ants have discovered that while one path to destruction was cleaned and sprayed with pesticide, there is always another way in. So now, each time I find ants, I clean and spray. This would be point #4, that ants will not give up no matter how strong of an enemy you are. I’ve done a lot of cleaning and spaying. Now I have the most interesting thing happening. I don’t remember in all my years of ant killing that I have ever experienced this. A couple of times each week I discover dead ants on my counter. Like they crawled in, bowed down, and died right where I would find them. I love this illustration God has given to me. And this would be point #5 – the final word on the matter of ants. No matter how many times the enemy comes at you, you will ALWAYS have the victory. Sometimes, God takes care of the battle before you even have to lift a finger to fight! Sometimes, you just have to show up for the war. Read the Old Testament, there are many stories about how the Israelites just showed up and never lifted a shield or a sword. They just watched as the enemy was handed over to them.

Ants, what an illustration. Annoying, frustrating, irritating pests but not to be feared nor ignored. One day, my home will be ant free. One day, my life will be battle free. Until then, I will remain diligent, watchful, and prepared for battle.

“The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah. The ants go marching one by one hurrah, hurrah. The ants go marching one by one. I’m not worried the battle is won. And we’ll all go marching toward Zion with our hands raised in praise. Hallelujah!”