Ants on a picnic

Ants on a picnic.

Have you ever been on a picnic before? I haven’t gone on a typical picnic (picnic basket with paper plates, lemonade, and sandwiches), but I have eaten outside and sat on the ground before. And it’s amazing how many ants can come crawling your way as soon as you drop even a little bit of food.

And I don’t like ants. We once had sugar ants swarming at our back door and it was disgusting. I hated it.

I don’t like ants.

But the other day – when I was feeling too many fears – I heard this:

They are only ants on a picnic.

Ants, while annoying, are pretty easy to get rid of. Now for the moment, we are only discussing those basic backyard ants. Forget about fire ants or any other kind of ant that’s dangerous. We’re talking about ants that you find in the backyard that come to crash your picnic.

I know we’ve talked about fears and worries before, but maybe somebody really needs to hear this. Or maybe I just need to keep hearing it.

But I think that a lot of the things that we are afraid of, a lot of the fears and cares and worries we have are simply…ants. They look creepy and crawly, and the more you have, the worse it looks, because swarming ants are disgusting. And if there’s enough of them, it can look overwhelming, especially when the ants seem to be eating away at your food, crawling up your clothes –

Then beloved, stand up and shake them off.

Now, let’s be very, very clear. I’m not belittling your fears, worries, or cares. Fears can feel very real and when it’s crawling up your leg in a swarm, it can paralyze you. But beloved I'm here to tell you that you are bigger than those ants.

I have no clue how many ants you find crawling around you, but today, I want to encourage you that God is bigger than the ants. Because here’s the thing: even if the fears are too overwhelming for me, they are not overwhelming to God.

So, if you feel like you have ants crawling around, will you do me favor? Will you imagine Jesus right next to you, and see Him greater than the ants? Show Him the ants, and then watch Him brush them right off of you. And then see Him handing you back whatever food those ants stole from you. Maybe you’ve lost some of your peace, your joy, your energy, your fire because of all these fears and worries. Right now, I encourage you to say “Jesus, take care of these fears. I hand them to You.” And just toss whatever fear you have, no matter how many you have, right into His open and loving hands. Then see Him smile at you because He never, EVER makes you feel bad for whatever troubles you have. Then see Him crush all those ants right in His hands because when it comes down to it, fear always has to give way to perfect love. Fear will lose to perfect love every single time.

So beloved, let’s have a picnic. Let’s breathe and enjoy and laugh and maybe cry, but then let’s laugh some more. And then whenever we see ants or feel ants, tell Jesus and have Him brush them off and crush them in His hands.

Above all, don’t feel bad if you have a lot of fears right now. Because you know what? God isn’t mad at you for them. When ants come and crash a picnic, do you feel guilty about it? No. Ants try to come wherever there is food. But usually, we just shake them off. Shake them off to Jesus. He won’t condemn you for them. In fact, you will be met with so much love that those fears will just melt and drip away when you realize how much He absolutely loves and cares for you – too much to let harm come to you.

So. Let’s not be bothered by whatever ants we see. They are only ants and they are nothing compared to the absolute power and love of Jesus.

Remember, you are deeply, deeply loved.