The oceans cover nearly three-fourths of the world’s surface. Although God created billions of stars and planets, none except the earth, as far as we know, has stable water on its surface. This is because He had a special purpose when He made the earth. “He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited” (Isaiah 45:1818For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the Lord; and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:18)). The water found on earth is essential for every form of life He placed here.
Without the oceans, extreme temperatures would make life impossible. It is what happens in the oceans that makes up for the uneven heating of the sun. The earth receives the greatest amount of heat from the sun at the equator. The heat becomes less and less as you get farther north or south of the equator, making the North and South Poles very cold. Millions of people, along with plant and animal life, live between the equator and these icy poles. This would not be possible if it were not for the oceans’ effect on the climate.
As the sun heats ocean water near the equator, it expands, creating currents that move to the north and south. These currents travel thousands of miles and, because warm water rises, they carry the heated water on the surface. And since cold water falls, the cold water the currents meet drops down and flows in the opposite direction — back towards the equator where it is warmed, and the process is repeated.
Warm ocean waters are a large reservoir of heat that has a vast influence on air temperatures. Great amounts of heat from the sun are stored in ocean waters. Heat is not lost as fast from water as it is from land. That is why the air above the oceans is cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter than the air above land.
Solomon wrote: “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, [there] they return again” (Ecclesiastes 1:77All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. (Ecclesiastes 1:7)). His observation is true. The flow of waters into the oceans is balanced by water evaporating out of it, and the seas never overflow! Only a divine Creator could so delicately control this so that it is always in balance.
God’s work in creation was good and wise. It is sweet to think of all the ways that the oceans provide for the comfort of His creatures. But even more, God is good in each of our lives. His plans for us are always good, even when life seems hard. (See Romans 8:2828And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28).) He always works in our lives to make us more like His Son, and that is a very good thing.
Did You Know?
Although God created billions of stars and planets, none except the earth, as far as we know, has stable water on its surface.
Messages of God’s Love 12/15//2024