Do not let yesterday’s heartaches rob you of the strength you need to face tomorrow. Proverbs 13 says that the soul of the diligent will be richly supplied.
Okay, autumn is officially here – time to air out your comforter.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I love this time of year when fall arrives; soon it’ll be October, the season of everything-pumpkin. Winds are shifting, blustering much colder than even a few weeks ago. So, don’t be fooled by Indian summer; be prepared for a period of cold rains or even snow flurries up north. Winter is on its way. And I’ll tell you about someone who knows that colder weather is on the way – ants. Ants are like a troop of Eagle Scouts with their motto, “Be Prepared.” And it is why Proverbs 6 tells us to go to the ant. They have wise ways of doing things and insight can be found by observing the way they do stuff.
However, when the ants come marching one by one, I tell you what, those pesky critters that invade your kitchen, you rarely look for insight, right? You look for a can of Raid or Black Flag. It’s nearly impossible to outsmart a regiment of marching ants as they trek across your countertop. But we can learn much from their maneuvers. Ants are industrious creatures that live organized lives, always planning, always working together, and storing up for the future. Ants never look back – they don’t have time for that. They are always preparing for hard days ahead. Well, unlike the ant, we tend to look over our shoulders and focus on the past. We become fixated on what could have been, or we stew over what we should have done. And I’m my own worst example. After the accident in which I became paralyzed, I spent way too much time looking through old photo albums of the past filled with pictures of me on my feet. Photos of me riding horses. A photo of me in my swimsuit. Me with a tennis racket. I was fixated on the “me that used to be.” Looking back, I was stewing over what I should’ve done. I mean, I tried my best to make that fateful ‘trip to the beach’ disappear. But after a while, the whole thing of looking back, began to feel suffocating. I realized I had to get out of this fantasy. I had to decide whether or not hurtful memories would control me. Because yesterday’s heartaches have a way of robbing you of the strength you need to face tomorrow.
Let me say that again: focusing on yesterday’s heartaches and disappointments rob you of the strength you need to move forward. So, as the proverb says, “Consider the ant, you sluggard, and observe its ways.” Frankly, I had been a [I don’t know] bit of a spiritual sluggard, a slacker, too lazy to do the hard work of trusting God with my future. But ants have a prudent expectation of future, and I needed to look at my future the same way. And so, like an ant whose sandhill is demolished, I picked up the decimated pieces of my life and I pulled them forward in time. “Let it go Joni”, I reasoned, “Don’t look back. There are countless cold winters ahead. So be prepared. And face the future with hope.”
And now, so many years later, looking back? I’m so grateful I did the hard work of trusting God with my difficult future. So please, friend, do not let yesterday’s heartaches rob you of the strength you need to face tomorrow. Proverbs 13 says that the soul of the diligent will be richly supplied. And that can be you. And if you are still discouraged? Then look to the proverbial ant. And keep looking forward. God will richly supply what you need as you move forward into the future.
© Joni and Friends