“Happy is he . . . whose hope is in the Lord his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is.”
Psalm 146:56
Below the ocean’s surface, a dolphin is giving birth to a baby which will be about three feet long and weigh more than a hundred pounds. Coming up occasionally for air, the mother will require an hour’s time to bring her baby into the world. If this baby would be born headfirst, like most other creatures, it would drown, for it must breathe air. So God has provided that it will be born tailfirst, and it won’t need to breathe until immediately after birth.
With birth completed, the newborn will go to the surface for air with its mother’s help. Then she will turn on her side to let her baby nurse. Soon another dolphin will appear and look the baby over carefully. The mother will not be concerned, because this is an “auntie” that will help in the baby’s training and protection until it matures.
Dolphins have never been known to purposely hurt a person and are quick to make friends. They seem to enjoy swimming alongside ships, and, because they swim very fast, they sometimes go great distances, often swimming in large circles around the ships.
Dolphins are friendly with each other and communicate by means of squeaks, clicks and whistles. When one is injured, others stay with it, guiding or pushing it out of danger. Should one be unable to rise to the surface for air, others will swim under it to lift it to the surface.
These graceful creatures spend their entire lives in water and have no way of surviving on land, yet they are air-breathing mammals. Their bodies are remarkably streamlined for fast movement through water so they can easily catch fish, their main food. The common dolphins grow to fifteen feet long and weigh a half ton or more. The bottle-nosed dolphins, usually seen performing in water shows, are closer to six feet long and weigh about two hundred fifty pounds.
How wonderful that God has populated the world with so many interesting creatures. And a verse from the Bible tells us that all creatures, including humans, are dependent on Him for life: “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15-1615The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. 16Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. (Psalm 145:15‑16)).
In the same psalm we are told, “The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them” (vss. 18-19). This is His invitation to us to call on Him for the salvation of our eternal souls. Have you made your call to Him?
ML-12/07/2003