Ants are little insects that teach big lessons as we study from Prov.6:6-11. But we are not speaking today about these very small creatures of God. We are going to use ANTS as an acronym in this study: Automatic Negative ThoughtS. Way too often we get into this kind of rut in our thinking. Numerous situations arise and we start having negative thoughts immediately. Persecutions come our way and we start getting paranoid as if we are bad people, we must have done something wrong in our life. Consider the apostles in Acts 5:41, “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Or think of the positive thoughts Jesus teaches us when persecutions come to us. “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” Or when we find ourselves in financial constraints in life, we may get filled with negative thoughts of anxiety, preoccupation with earthly matters, fret and worry as we have been abandoned. The scriptures give us great thoughts to fill our minds. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Heb.13:5-6. Also think of that great promise of Jesus in the discussion on worry and anxiety (Matt.6:26-34) when he said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Instead of conditioning our minds with ANTS, let us fill our minds with the words of God, that gives us Lord’s point of view.
–Dan McKibben
