CAN YOU SEE THE TINY ANT?

 CAN YOU SEE THE TINY ANT?

(The ant is right in the center of the tile!) I watched a tiny ant, barely 1/16 of an inch at most, scurrying around the floor of my bathroom. It was obviously looking for something. I intuitively knew that I should squash it, but I talked myself out of it, saying, “It probably won’t find anything, and it’ll just go away.” I watched it for three days, then the fourth day when I went into the bathroom, there were about ten tiny ants in the sink and the same number on the floor! Out came the spray and no more ants.

 

That’s the negative side of seeing things that start off seemingly innocuous and growing into big problems, and we’ve all seen that way too many times, right? But on the positive side, the principle works out to our benefit. Start off with just a tiny mustard seed of faith and see how fast the Lord can multiply that faith into something huge! The little ant wandered around for three days, and then on the fourth, the numbers exploded!

 

Our faith may go several days or more, just incubating, searching for what it needs. It may not appear that a Biblical, spiritual solution is sinking into our lives or even making a difference at all, but once that little seed incubates, it explodes all at once. And like God promises in Psalm 115:14: “The Lord shall increase you more and more.”

 

Jesus told this parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:  which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof” (Matt. 13:31-32).

 

Whenever we see the phrase “kingdom of God,” it is referring to “God’s way of doing things.” So when we sow “God’s way of doing things” into our lives, by accepting His ways into our hearts, God promises it will grow to be the greatest among herbs.

 

And what do herbs do? For one thing, they spice up our food. Does anyone want a little more spice in their lives? Herbs are also used for healing many different ailments. Does anyone need a little healing in their bodies, or souls, or relationships? Herbs are also used to cleanse our systems, like, for instance, our intestines. Does anyone need a flushing of negatives out of their lives? Herbs are also used in sachets or potpourri just because they smell so good and can make us feel great. Does anyone need a little sweetening, a little more happy medicine in their lives? God has just told us in Matthew 13 that tiny mustard seeds of doing things His way grow into the GREATEST OF HERBS, and then even into MAGNIFICENT TREES with many branches.

 

Let me ask you, Who doesn’t want to be the GREATEST OF HERBS or a MAGNIFICENT TREE?

 

It’s not too hard to squash a tiny ant before it multiplies, and it’s just as easy to plant an ant-sized mustard seed of God’s and let it thrive and explode in us to be bigger and better than we ever thought we could be! Bring it on! My friend Debbie Mohn sent me a short piece that included a tiny phrase, which fits perfectly here: “I trust my life to Him.” That covers many aspects and it’s good faith seed to sow, don’t you think?!

 

Love, Carolyn