Photo Credit: Alison Coggins

Photo Credit: Alison Coggins

Are you a nature person? I am not someone who studies foliage, bugs, and wildlife, but I can appreciate a beautiful sunset, landscape, and animal I encounter.

This morning, I was reading in Proverbs 30 and came across a few verses, I’ve probably glossed over in past readings, that jumped out at me. Proverbs 30:24-27,

Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; coneys are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags;  locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; “

Now before you think you misread, there were four things listed, it’s just the fourth one was listed in verse 28 and wasn’t one of the verses that jumped out at me. But, for those of you who need things tied up neatly in a bowbefore you can move on, here it is for you,

a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”

Now, when I get back to my point you’ll see the lizard wasn’t necessary. Two of the four things stood out to me, ants and locusts. We can learn some practical things from both of them.

Ants accomplish a great deal working together. They may move slow, yet they get the job done and they work together. According to Ant Factoids,

According to different estimates, ants can carry 10 – 50 times their body weight.”

That is phenomenal when you think about it. I can promise you that I can’t carry 10-50 times my body weight. Can you?

Locusts breed rapidly and according to the verse itself, they advance together in ranks. They can travel great distances and do excessive damage as a group, where one individual locust cannot do much damage on its own. You can learn more about them here.

When I read this today, I couldn’t help but reflect on the anti-trafficking movement. When I first stepped into the fight just over five years ago, there seemed to be a lot of different organizations doing their own thing. There appeared to be a fight for dollars, support, credit and the spotlight. Collectively, there wasn’t a lot being done.

Today, however, it appears the organizations are recognizing:

  • We’re all fighting the same enemy.

  • A victory for any organization is a victory for the cause.

  • We accomplish much more when we work like ants and locusts.

  • Together, we’re a force to be reckoned with in the fight.

This was evidenced in all that was accomplished over two days at the World Summit when 31 states and 11 countries had representatives from countless organizations, law enforcement and the private sector. We were collectively focused on fighting the real enemy and not one another.

What about your work? How could God be speaking to you through nature about what you’re doing? People often say they never hear from God. I’ve come to learn when I’m not hearing from Him, it’s because I’m not listening.

What’s He saying to you today?