Penguins Huddling Together
“. . . weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5 b)
The Emperor penguin endures a long winter. Four lengthy months of no sunlight. A seemingly never ending night. No food. No water. Yet – after four months comes their reprieve. The light of the sun bursts forth. The penguins endure blizzards, deprivation, and fierce cold as they guard a treasure. A solitary egg they carry in a fold near their feet.
How do they survive? It’s hard to imagine. Yet, these birds, by instinct, hundreds huddling together closely warmed only by body heat, do indeed survive.
Hard to imagine, isn’t it? One would barely think it possible to survive – and yet they do.
I am reminded of the lives we face. Meeting challenges day after day after day – seemingly with no end in sight. Yet – there is something inside the human spirit that is not so terribly different than that of the male Emperor Penguin. Something that knows – the sun will come.
For us – it is simply the exchange of one single letter as the sun changes into the Son. Those of us who believe know our suffering will not go on forever. One day, the Son will burst forth in His full glory. The long winter of our lives will be over – and we will bask in the eternal light of a never-ending day.
The Emperor penguin silently endures. Knowing. How does he know how precious the treasure is that he protects? By a God-given instinct.
And how do we know? How do we know how precious the treasure is that lies within us? We have the treasure of knowing the Son. Of knowing His love and care and mercy during these seemingly never-ending nights.
One day, joy WILL come in the morning. As surely as the sun begins to shine for the Emperor penguin after his long months of enduring the unendurable, the Son will shine for us.
Prayer: Father God, Thank you for your promises of the end of our pain and suffering when the long night is over. I pray that you grant each dear reader the strength to endure, the courage to persevere, trusting in the fact that you have promised that joy will come and the bleakness of our night will be over. Forever. Amen.
About the Author:
deni weber believes that the only true way to deal with chronic challenges is to bring them to the feet of her Lord and Savior. Her challenges have taught her many things about herself and her Christian walk. It is her fondest desire that her lessons may be helpful to others as they walk the path of chronic illness. Her website is http://www.pathwaysforchange.com/Encouragement – deni can be reached at encouragingwords@me.com
Chronic Illness Pain Daily Devotionals 
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Deni
I thank you once again for the encouragement your words bring to my life. I have long been fascinated by the Emperor Penguins – especially the males – and how they live and yet survive AND manage to bring new lives into their colonies. They struggle through much adversity for so much of their lives yet they never give up. I love to watch documentaries/movies about these fascinating animals. If God cared enough to give Emperor Penguins the survival instincts that they have, how much more does He care for us and supply us with what we need?
You and your family are always in my thoughts and prayers, my dear friend.
Hugs,
Heather
Heather, Thanks so very much for leaving a comment. They are indeed amazing creatures! And yes, how much more God cares for and supplies us with what we need. I appreciate the thoughts and prayers more than you know. Hugs and love, deni
deni – such encouraging words. Thank you.
We are being treasured and protected no matter how we “feel”.
The Son is with us now and will be in His full Glory on that day to come when all tears ( and illness ) will be washed away.
We can learn so much by observing the rest of God’s creation who instinctively just do – no frets or worries. Thanks for bringing this to light for us!
Lynn – I love the observation that what we need to do is look at the rest of God’s creation. How true! Reminds me of the parable of the lilies of the field! Thanks for commenting. I so appreciate your thoughts!
Hello dear sisters! Deni, my daughter and I both “have a thing” about penguins. Thank you for this devotional, it is true that every part of creation can teach us about the Creator. I am looking forward for the day when tears and pain are gone, and we are standing in the light of the SON. Praise the Lord for that promise!
Sandy – what a lovely encouragement you are. I’m not sure who gets more encouragement – those who read or those of us who write! Finding like-minded souls is so heart warming.