Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries
Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”
I’ve recently committed to searching for God in the little things, the small moments, the everyday.
- While watching a mother trying to pry an empty cup from her toddler’s hands so she can fill it up.
Lord, here’s my empty cup….fill it up.
- While listening to my nine-year-old daughter shouting directions from the backseat of the car.
Lord, I’m sorry for being a backseat driver….teach me to trust.
- While folding the pile of laundry that has gotten out of control due to an overly busy week.
Lord, my heart feels like this messy pile of laundry…show me a better way.
The most amazing thing happens when we decide to search for God in the everyday.
We find Him in the most unexpected places.
Making time to Explore
My daughter Anya loves to gallivant around the wooded area on our property, and is always searching for a comrade to explore with.
I’m usually too busy tending to the garden and other household chores to join her on these expeditions.
But yesterday I decided to set aside my work and enjoy one last romp in the woods with her before school starts.
We held hands and wandered, she showed me her favorite spots, we found the perfect tree to hang a tire from next summer.
She’s growing up so quickly.
Why am I ever too busy to stop and enjoy this precious little girl?
Something magical happens when we make time to explore with our children.We spot our cat Whiskers (a.k.a The Great White Hunter) out in the pasture stalking field mice.
Anya chatters about how she wants to live right next door when she’s all grown up, and how she’ll never be an auntie.
I gently remind her that her little sister has plenty of time to change her mind about boys and babies.
Finding God in an Anthill
The fields surrounding our home are still lush and green, a rarity for late August in the Black Hills.
We’ve seen hundreds of turkeys and dozens of deer in our meadow this year, not to mention our 30 backyard hens who often free range on the property and the horses who graze nearby.
I spot a giant anthill at the base of a large pine tree, and beckon my little adventurer to come and see.
She admits that she’s never seen an anthill this big, then hesitantly confesses that she sometimes stomps on the little anthills that dot the cracks in our driveway.
Don’t we all?
As we watch the ants work on their hill, busily preparing for the harsh winter months that are closer than anyone would like to admit, Anya informs me that the survival of the whole colony is dependent on their queen.
Gosh, she’s smart.
Nature teaches us about God’s character, I remark as I search for something wise and scholarly to say in the moment.
I stutter…recover…then pronounce, “Have you ever heard the Bible verse about ants?”
She says she hasn’t —I give myself a mental high five before realizing that I haven’t the foggiest idea what the verse says.
The teachable moment passes, and I resolve to search out the verse and read it to her when we get back to the house.
Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise. Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest. Proverbs 6:6-8
Learning from the Ants
The sun is dipping low on the horizon and I remember my promise from earlier in the day.
Time to head back home and take little sister into town for ice cream.
Summer is slipping away from us.
I’m sad to see it go.
Yet all I can think about are those ants, scurrying atop their hill, busily preparing for the next season.
Nature can teach us so much about God's character, design, and purpose.As my family piles into the car, I start gabbing at my husband about all of the spiritual lessons we can learn from ants.
He smiles and settles into his role as sounding board, head nodder, and mm-hmm-er.
Oh, how I love him.
From her spot in the backseat, Anya interrupts my ramblings with an excited, “Mommy, you should write a blog post about this,” followed by, “Will you tell them that it was my idea to go on the walk?”
“Of course, I will, honey.”
How God Reveals Himself
For His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse. Romans 1:20
Our loving Heavenly Father chose to reveal himself to us in two distinct ways.
General Revelation (Creation) – Psalm 19:1
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands.”
Specific Revelation (Bible) – 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Therefore, if we want to know God, we must study both the works of His hands and the Words of His mouth.
To know and understand God, we must study His works and His WordThey work in harmony with one another —each providing insight into God’s beautiful design.
10 Reasons Christians should be more like Ants
What Biblical truths can we glean from the ants? With a little research, I found ten (but I’m sure there are more).
1. Ants have colonized all of the inhabitable landmass of earth. The Great Commission states that Christians should do the same. (Matthew 28:19)
2. Ants live in colonies; they depend on one another. God urges Christians to live in community; to support one another. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
3. Ants operate as a “unified entity”, working together for the greater good. Christians must do the same. (Psalm 133:1)
4. Every ant has a unique job, a specific role in the colony. Every Christian has a unique job, a specific role in the body of Christ. (Romans 12:4-5)
5. Interactive teaching occurs within ant colonies, the elders guide the young. A healthy Church must have engaged, cross-generational teaching. (Titus 2:6-8)
10 Powerful Reasons Christians should be more like Ants.6. Ants easily identify their own colony members by scent. Love is Christians identifying scent. (John 13:35)
7. The true beauty of the ant colony lies beneath the surface. In the same way, God does not care about the things that man can see, He focuses on the unseen…the condition of a man’s heart. (1 Samuel 1:7)
8. Ants can lift 100+ times their own body weight. Because of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, Christians are capable of bearing far more than their unsaved counterparts. (1 John 4:4)
9. Ants are self-motivated and hardworking. The Bible exhorts Christians to work hard with their hands, so they can have an abundance to share with others. (Ephesians 4:28)
10. Ants can’t survive without their queen. In the very same way, there is no life apart from Jesus. (John 14:6)
God is always there, waiting for us to seek Him.
And sometimes we find Him in an anthill, of all places!
I wonder what you will find when you commit to search for God in your everyday life.
