One of the most loved of all the world’s animals is the dolphin. We perceive of dolphins as friendly, intelligent and beautiful sea creatures. But one of the lesser known facts about dolphins is why they have dark grey backs and silver bellies. The answer is stunning yet simple: camouflage. When the dolphin’s swimming on the surface the silver masks its shape against the surface of the water; it makes it difficult for that Great White shark swimming below the surface to spot it. And when the dolphin dives deep the dark grey masks it against the darker water. In fact the dolphin only has to dive A few metres and it disappears from view.

Go to an oceanarium that has dolphin shows and you’ll see the evidence for yourself. The crowd gathers to be amazed by these spectacular creatures. Everyone exhales with delight when the dolphins are spotted. Then they dive deep and we lose sight of them. And that’s what makes for the joy. Because all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a pair of dolphins burst through the surface of the water, leap high in the air and crash back down into the water. Then they dive deep and they’re gone again, and the crowd waits with a delirious sense of anticipation for the next appearance. We don’t know where it’s going to be or when it’s going to be and then bang, there are 3 dolphins dancing on their tails across the surface.

It’s magical. As I reflect upon that I wonder whether God is a lot like those dolphins. There are times when God is spectacularly present in our lives, leaping through the air like one of those dolphins. Maybe it’s walking in the forest and having an overwhelming sense that God is present; maybe it’s hearing for the first time that God loves you and knowing that you believe it; maybe it’s a dramatically answered prayer; maybe it’s a sense that God has provided you guidance for a difficult decision.

And there are times when God is like those dolphins when they dive, when all we can see are the deep waters of our lives. We fear the sharks and the stingers that lurk down there, worried that they will leap out and bite us – and sometimes they do. And we hope like crazy that the dolphins are down there too, that somewhere hidden in the depths, invisible to our sight God is there. We long for God to come crashing through, though we’re not quite sure just where it will be or when it will be or how it will be. And some of us wait for an awfully long time between appearances, sometimes almost a whole lifetime, but wait we do and we enjoy those moments when God does.

Source: Scott Higgins