Devotion for Friday, August 26, 2011
Prayer Request:
Today is Melana’s surgery. If you guys could pray for her and us today we would be grateful!
Today’s Passage:
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.
Proverbs 6:6-11
Application Questions:
So it’s Friday. It’s the last day of the week, and you’re feeling tired. You’re probably not motivated to do your best work today, ’cause it’s Friday. Well, today we got a little motivation from Proverbs didn’t we?
- Explain why the ant is a good illustration of not being lazy. v.6-8
- We are tempted to procrastinate (v.9-10). How can procrastination hurt you this year at school?
- What do you think vs. 11 means? How does that happen in people’s lives?
Study the Scriptures with Ben Jennings 
Been praying for Melana that her surgery goes well and that He has His hand over her the whole time, and for you guys! Don’t worry it’ll be smooth sailing! 🙂
Thanks Mel!
1. well the ant does lots to live and so do we but i think it was a better example becauase its taking our place and it says that we need to do what we can to survive and live, like the ant.
2. it could make me turn in work late and that could give eme a bad grade for emample i have a project due on monday and im not going toput it off like i wouldve last year, im going to finish it and get a good grade.
3. will being poor come as being one that travels, and they are as an amed man.
Okay so What I got out of this passage was….Don’t procrastinate or put things off. If you procrastinate in school then you most likely to have a bad grade! If u procrastinate in life u won’t get far!!! So that means always do your best work!!!:) I think that’s what I got!
Oh and by the way I’m praying for little Melana and I hope everything goes well!! Don’t worry (like Melanie said) God is watching Melana! She will be alright!!:D
Thanks Mackenzie…. 🙂
What i got out of this is If u put things of like your school work or getting in Gods word it will stop you from doing what God has for you we all need to get in Gods word.
And my hole family will be praying for Melana.
Good point Blake- The easiest way to put the verses into a sentence is “Don’t be lazy!” 🙂 You’re right on!
Thanks for praying for Melana:)
were praying for her
Thanks Ben!
Thanks everyone! Melana’s surgery was a success according to the doctor. She was a little irritated and confused when she woke up from the surgery, but then slept most of the way home from Sarasota. She is really tired and is sleeping a ton now which is good. Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement. 🙂
Been praying for Melana & you guys, I’m glad everything went well! 🙂
1) The ant is a great example because ants are known for being busy workers. They get food, build their ant hills, and do so much even though they are so little! (Anyone seen Bug’s Life? ;)) They are not lazy creatures, and we should take our example from the ant. Weird, but true!!
2) We are very tempted to procrasinate. I procrasinate all the time and it ends up hurting me in the end and my grades prove it! This year i’ve been doing all my school work so far and its been great. I’m less stressed and it helps to do it, because i am learning from it! Procrasinating goes beyond just school though. Something i used to do all the time was not read my bible consistently. It was my biggest struggle. I never knew when to read, what to read, how to interpret it, nothing. Now with this devo convo online i get into God’s word everyday 🙂 It’s awesome, because i’m learning more and more each day, and procrasinating would just take me far from God. Im proud of you all for getting on today because it shows your not putting God’s word off! 🙂
3) “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.” Well, poverty means poor. I think this verse means that if you continue to be poor in judgement, or procrasinate, you can lose what your future is supposed to be. Procrasination is the easiest thing to fall into. We all get tired and want to relax and chill. Hours begin to pass, & doing work just isnt what i want to do. I have to push through my laziness and get through it all because in the end it helps so much! 🙂
Lindsey- I like the devo convo every day too. It helps me stay accountable, and makes me think through the Bible enough to write it down… It’s helpful.
1. Like Lindsey said, ants are known as busy workers. Have you ever seen a trail of ants carrying crumbs of food? They always scurry to get to the source of food that they find before someone else eats it, or it’s gone. I thought of this as I read the first two verses because if the ants waited until they got hungry, there is a good chance the food would be gone. An ant is a great example for this because idk about you, but I’ve never seen an ant just chill. I mean flys, birds, other insects chill all the time, but have you ever seen an ant just stay put? I know I haven’t. That’s not in their character! It’s weird looking at an ant as a good example, but it’s so true! Procastination is key to success! NOT! Everytime I porcrastinate on anything, it’s always half of what I know I’m capable of and I especially do not want my relationship with God to be only “half of what I’m capable of” because I was lazy!
2. I’m a senior this year, (that is still so weird to say to me!), but being a senior is very stressful at times but also can be very fun! I know that if i procastinate this year, I will make my last year of high school stressful when I know it doesn’t have to be. If I put in my all to my school work, I can strive to getting good grades, and making my senior year the bomb like everyone says it is! 🙂
– On a side note, I also don’t want to procastinate with my relationship with God. I don’t want to get to the attitude where I say, “Sorry God I’m too tired or too busy for my devotions. My time is my time not yours.” I have been really good about it so far and giving God my time! I don’t want that to happen, so this is a huge motivator for me!
3. I believe that verse 11 means, that if we chose to do other things instead of the things we’re supposed to, our laziness will result to poverty. For example, if i decided to sleep rather then to work I’m being lazy and potentionally missing out! Spiritually speaking, if I live my life based on laziness, I will end up missing out on the life I was intened for.
Procastination sucks and will hit all of us at some point in time and some more then others. Instead of giving into it, think about the ant, think about what God wants us to do and how we can potentionally be missing out because of our laziness! Don’t give in friends! So not worth it! 🙂
Procrastination happens when we believe we have extra time- but the bottom line is that our days are numbered. “Teach us to count our days. Teach us to make our days count.”
1. I agree with Lindsey & Melanie! The ant is a very hard worker, and a good example for us to work hard at whatever we’re doing and not to slack off!
2. Procrastinating is very easy to do and also very bad! Putting things off until the last minute in school can affect your grades, and putting off your devotions just draws you farther away from God! Sometimes what helps me with procrastination is getting things done right away, or having a friend help motivate you!
3. I think maybe verse 11 means that procrastination or laziness can have very bad results! God doesn’t want us to be lazy, especially when it comes to getting into His word!! 🙂
1. Like everybody’s been saying ants are hard and busy workers, and we need to be like that, hard working and not procrastinating.
2. I mean we get tempted to procrastinate because we can be lazy and other stuff can distract us. We need to be focused.
3. If we procrastinate and just be lazy can definitely create habits than can effect your future for the worst.
I was going to post something, but I think I’ll do it tomorrow. 🙂