I was reading an article yesterday about an event that occurred at the San Diego Zoo during a recent 5.2 magnitude earthquake:

Elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park formed an “alert circle” to protect their young during a recent earthquake. This protective behavior, where adults surround the young, is a natural response to perceived danger and allows them to assess the situation and coordinate their actions.

Isn’t that amazing? The elephants knew there was something wrong, and they immediately acted to protect their young.

Back in 2012, we had a derecho – it was devastating to our area. People were without power for days during the hottest time of the year. I remember going outside to check on things before it hit, and the one thing I noticed most of all was the silence. No bug noise. No bird noise. No frog noise. Silence. The animals knew something was happening and had taken cover!

Creation is an amazing thing. In Mark 4, Jesus calms the sea just by saying, “Peace! Be still!”

The phrase “Peace, be still!” (Mark 4:39) is a command from Jesus to the sea during a storm, and it signifies His authority over nature. The phrase implies a request for the sea to cease its turbulent activity and return to a state of calm. The Greek word “siopao” (peace) translates to “be quiet” or “refrain from speaking,” while “phimoo” (still) means “to keep quiet as with a muzzle.” The interesting thing is that in this command, the sea did not have a choice. It was an immediate order – the waves did not slowly cease to crash against themselves and the boat. They stopped.

Why did the elephants circle? Why did the animals take cover?

Why did the sea cease to be angry?

Because the creation knows the voice of the Creator, and it has to obey.

It has no choice.

Last night, as we had our Bible study time, Jay posed an interesting and amazing thought. We had watched the movie “Son of God” the night before and their depiction of Jesus having Peter and the disciples take the boat out for a catch of fish (John 21: 3-19) is the best in my opinion.

Jay posed this question. He said, “If creation listens to the Creator, and recognizes His voice, and Jesus was on the boat when he told them to put out the nets for a catch…then the fish got in the net because they didn’t have a choice. But do you also think they caught so many fish because the fish knew Jesus was on the boat and they heard His voice, and they jumped in the net because they wanted to be near Him since He created them?”

Why can’t we be more like the rest of creation and respond immediately to God’s voice? Why don’t we recognize Him as Creator and just long to be with Him?

He gave us the ability to make decisions, and sometimes, they aren’t so good.

Let us be so in tune with Him that we recognize His voice and heed His call.