“Thank you, Lord, for making us so marvelously complex!"
~ Psalm 139:14
We humans have difficulty relating to fish.
That’s partly because their world is vastly
different from ours. They’re not furry, cuddly,
or funny; they can’t express emotions or do cute tricks.
They’ve long been misread as primitive, dull, and boring. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. They actually live dynamic lives, often
blessed with remarkable abilities. Take
the amazing Frillfin Goby for instance.
It’s kind of an ugly little fish that lives in the
inter-tidal zones of the Atlantic Ocean. When
the tide goes out, the fish lives in small tidal pools; isolated and safe from the
predatory fish that threaten its existence.
See a goby and you’re not likely to give it much thought. It’s not pretty like so many tropical species,
nor is it impressive in size. It's not even
good to eat.
They each have a home pool, but sometimes when the tide
rolls out, the waves sweep them into a different pool. These small puddles become the perfect hunting
ground for crabs and shorebirds.
With no place to hide; the goby developed a remarkable
technique for escaping to its home pool.
It can fling its 4-inch body into a nearby rockpool, and if
necessary, to another, then another, and so on. But how does leap precisely into the next pool
without landing on bare rock … especially since the fish is blind?
Answer: At high tide when they’re still
able to swim freely above the pools, gobies swim over the area creating a
mental map of the sea-floor’s topography. Essentially,
they create a mental GPS that allows them to make what would be an otherwise
dangerous escape. It’s a trait now passed
down through generations; another reminder of the marvelously complex world we
live in.
The goby’s natural ability is almost super natural. And it represents just a fraction of God’s brilliance. No one can fully understand how imaginative
and detailed God is.
He also created each of us with special talents and gifts.
To suggest that you don’t have a talent is to call God a liar. Some have talent in artistry, some in
computer programming, still others in singing.
Some people have great skills in business, or teaching, or carpentry.
If you don’t know what your
talent, it’s not because God hasn’t given you one. You have one, you just haven’t discovered or
applied it yet. The first step in finding
purpose or even wealth in life is by seeking the Kingdom of God and wait
patiently for Him to real what He has planned for you.
If He can make a blind, pea-brained fish fly, imagine what
he can do for you with the wisdom and skills He’s provided for you!
Lord, as we walk throughout our day it’s so
easy to just glide past the intricacy and depth of the world around us. May we never forget how marvelously complex
our world is, and how brilliant You, who created all things, are still today.
