This story is a great picture of how no matter what we are going through, God is there to help—just in time. Of course, in His time, not ours. He uses anyone—or any ant—to help carry us through our troubling times.
A young woman named Brenda was invited by friends to go rock climbing. She was fearful and anxious about doing it, but in spite of her fear, she decided to join the group and climb a very large granite cliff.
She put on the climbing gear, grabbed hold of the rope, and started up the rock face. She made it to a ledge where she could pause and catch her breath. While hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against her face and knocked out one of her contact lenses.
There she was—on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below and above her. She searched desperately for the lens, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it was nowhere to be found. Her vision blurred, she became upset and prayed, asking the Lord to help her find it.
When she finally reached the top, a friend examined her eye and checked her clothes—but still, no lens. Brenda sat down, discouraged, waiting for the rest of the climbers to finish the climb.
She looked out across the vast mountain ranges and thought of the Bible verse:
“The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
— 2 Chronicles 16:9
She whispered a prayer:
“Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf. You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”
After everyone had completed the climb, the group made their way down to the base of the cliff. At the bottom, a new group of climbers was just starting up the rock. Suddenly, one of them shouted:
“Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?”
Startling, right? But here’s how the climber saw it:
An ant was carrying the lens slowly across the face of the rock!
When Brenda later told the story to her father, who was a cartoonist, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging the contact lens with this caption:
“Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I’ll carry it for You.”
Life isn’t easy.
We constantly face challenges—problems, obstacles, hardships, and adversity. Sometimes, circumstances force us to carry burdens that don’t belong to us. We may face opposition, even from the very people we’re trying to serve. Often, we feel like giving up—or we keep going, but struggle under the weight.
In life, we don’t always get what we want. There’s a purpose behind everything, even if we don’t understand it. In those moments, instead of asking “Why me?”, we can pray:
“God, I don’t know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy, but if You want me to carry it, I will.”
Let’s remember:
Tough times equip us to help others who are suffering.
We are most effective at comforting others when we’ve already been through the same trials.
Every being in creation has a purpose in God’s divine plan.
Every one of us is unique and has a unique calling.
God doesn’t call the qualified—He qualifies the called.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
— Philippians 4:13
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
— Philippians 4:6
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