Have you ever asked yourself why God created animals – so many of them with such variety?

by—– Pat Gunther

Clearly God loves animals. He filled the Garden of Eden with them, preserved them during the Flood and expressed concern about the cattle of Nineveh at the end of the book of Jonah. He even makes the surprising statement in Proverbs 12:10 that righteousness includes treating our animals well. Someone’s true heart can be seen by the way s/he treats an animal – if they abuse an animal they likely will do so to people.

God undoubtedly created animals to be lessons for us.

ants – diligence and the work ethic (Proverbs 6:6-8)

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider it’s ways and be wise!

It has no commander, yet it stores it’s provisions in summer and gathers it’s food at harvest.”

“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise; (Proverbs 30: 26)

Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; Badgers are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand yet it is found in kings’ palaces.”

deer – sure footedness, strength and trust – (Habakkuk 3:19)

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights.”

doves – gentleness & innocence/ shrewd snakes (Matthew 10:16)

“ I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

eagle – confidence/strength in the face of difficulties (Isaiah 40:31)

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”

how eagles face a storm, spread their wings and use the wild strong winds to lift them up above the stormy clouds into the light beyond.

hen – safety (Matthew 23:37)

“Jerusalem. . .how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”

horse – obedience (Psalm 32:9)

“Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.”

lion – courage (Proverbs 30: 30)

“A lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing.”

raven – faith (Luke 12:24)

“Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!”

sheep – discipleship (John 10:4)

“The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to His voice. He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice.”

sparrow – trust (Psalm 84:3)

“Even the sparrow has found a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young – a place near your alter.”

In our Old Testament lesson we are reminded of a very large animal used by God to teach us as well as Jonah an important lesson.

Jonah tried to do things his own way because he didn’t want to do what God was asking of him. He was to preach God’s judgment to Nineveh whereas the other prophets were prophesying the judgment of God to Israel and Judah.

Jonah believed the Ninevites, who were known for their cruelty, were not deserving of God’s mercy so he ran away. But God isn’t selective in telling people of His love and neither should we be.

So the whale came along and changed Jonah’s timing and plans. The whale was used by God to teach Jonah an extremely important lesson – that of trusting and obeying God right away and in the first place.

Going from the very large to the very small, a caterpillar eats, spins a cocoon, when the time is right, it emerges through a tiny opening as it struggles to get free of the chrysalis, finally emerging – then lets it’s wings dry and then flies off.

There is a story about a young girl who found a chrysalis under a leave. She checked on it everyday until one day she noticed it was moving and there was no wind so she was pretty sure the butterfly was getting ready to come out. But it seemed to be taking a long time and maybe having trouble, so she found some safety scissors and carefully cut some of the chrysalis to help it escape to freedom.

To her horror, the butterfly emerged but it’s body was too big and the wings too small. It looked unlike any butterfly she’d ever seen and soon it dropped to the ground. It couldn’t fly so it didn’t survive.

When a butterfly struggles to get through the opening in the cocoon, as it pushes out of the protective wrappings, the fluids get redistributed from the body to the wings. The struggle to free itself is what the butterfly has to go through to be transformed into a beautiful creature, able to be airborne and free.

The butterfly has many lessons to teach us but in this example, we need struggles to grow our character. We learn and grow most from failures, disappointments and tough times. We also need to trust God and obey Him as Jonah also learned from the whale.

We need to wait on the Lord, though it’s not always easy, accepting His timing and not try to do things our way or too quickly just because He’s not moving fast enough for us. Like the little girl, with all good intentions, tried to hurry the butterfly along – many times our interference in God’s plans will backfire.

Things often will work out but we might not receive the blessings along the way that we would have if we’d only trusted God’s timing.

Often we are in such a rush that we miss a beautiful sunset, a lovely birdsong, the laughter of a child, the smile of a neighbor.

The song “My Way” surely is this present world’s song right now and should never be a Believer’s song. The following poem sums it up only too well:

‘As children bring their broken toys
With tears for me to mend,
It brought my broken dreams to God
Because He was my friend.
But then instead of leaving Him
In peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help
With ways that were my own.
At last I snatched them back and cried
“How can you be so slow?”
“My child,” He said,
 “What could I do?
-----You never did let go.”

- author unknown

So let us trust God, His timing and His plans for our lives and those whose lives we touch.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”

Father,

You have created such a variety of animals and filled our world with them. Some we don’t find very pretty or friendly but there are so many that take our breath away. And with all of them you have used your creativity and attention to detail. Then to have them able to teach us lessons, mentioning them specifically in the Bible – what a good and gracious God you are. Thank you that the animals teach us to trust You – and to wait for Your timing to accomplish Your plan for our lives no matter what kind of struggles we have to go through because You are there with us all the time, all the way.

—by Pat Gunther – used with permission

Addendum:

Gen 9:5-6

And for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the life of his fellow man. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of Go has God made man.” NIV

God directed ravens to feed Elijah 1 Kings 17:2-16

God knew where the colt was, and would be, at all times – through time: Zech 9:9; Luke 19:30

“Even the wild animals will be thankful to Me…” Isaiah 43:20

“The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches; for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.” Is 43:20-21 RSV