Morning Devotional

November 15, 2004
"Waxing Philosophical"

by Don Emmitte

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Praise the LORD from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and storm, wind and weather that obey him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, reptiles and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and maidens, old men and children. Let them all praise the name of the LORD. For his name is very great; his glory towers over the earth and heaven! (Psalm 148:7-11 NLT).

Sunday morning, as I was walking to get the paper, I found myself standing beside the big trees in my front yard that hang over the driveway. There, crawling across the driveway and to the largest of the trees were some large red ants. They were moving slowly, but methodically towards the top of the tree. Seeing the ants spoke to me. I suppose that’s why I am “waxing philosophical” a little this morning. In their own way, the ants were praising God!

Here, in the middle of this great big world, with all its troubles and turmoil, were the tiniest of creatures. They weren’t worried about the economy in Europe, or its effect on our economy. They weren’t concerned whether the gross domestic product indexes would be higher or lower for the previous month. They weren’t worried about global warming, Middle East peace talks, or the impact Arafat’s death would have on Israel and America. I doubt these ants were even concerned about whether or not I had let my lawn go too long between mowing. They didn’t seem worried about anything. They were simply doing what God created them to do, which right now was climbing up this tree in my front yard.

I wonder if Adam and Eve felt that way before the fall. Did they worry about food, or what they would eat? Of course not. Did they worry about clothes, or what they would wear? Did they worry about shelter, or where they would live? Of course not. God supplied all their needs. They simply trusted in Him. But, after the fall, when they were banished from the perfect Garden, I wonder if Adam lay awake at night worrying, “where am I going to get food for tomorrow?” or “will I ever have a bigger home?” or “how long before we need new fig clothing?”

Isn’t God calling us, who know and love His Son Jesus, to become more like the ants than like Adam after the fall? Doesn’t He want us to rely on Him, just as those ants do, for every provision of life? Now, I recognize that we have a higher responsibility on earth than the ants, but our resolve should be no different. Our trust should be no different. We are to trust our Creator no less than the ants. After all, the ants don’t have a personal relationship with the Creator! You and I, through Jesus, do! I’m not going to climb any trees today, but I am going to try and be more dependent on the One who equips the ants to climb one!