God’s Superglue

Psalm 119:31
“I have stuck unto thy testimonies: O LORD, put me not to shame.”

Scientists say that it is not man but the lowly barnacle that makes the strongest glue in the world. This glue, called anthropodin, works well under water and enables barnacles to stick to the bottom of ships, sea turtles, rocks and piers.

Barnacles on the ship’s hull slow the ship down, and they have to be removed about every six months. The Phoenicians were among the greatest of the ancient seafarers and tried to keep barnacles from sticking to their ships by coating the hulls with tar. However, that didn’t stop the barnacles; they could even stick to tar! Modern seafarers have learned that there is no stopping the barnacle’s glue – at best, they can only slow down the inevitable. Scientists are now studying the glue with the hope of being able to manufacture it for human projects.

Despite man’s great claims for his science, everything man makes can be improved through a better understanding of how God did the same thing in the creation. The same holds true, in a sense, in spiritual matters. None of us by ourselves clings as tightly to God’s revealed Word as we need to. This is why we end up filled with worry, get depressed or have problems. Each of us needs to cling to God’s Word with a spiritual glue that is even stronger than that of the barnacle’s.

Prayer:
Dear Father, I confess that I do sometimes worry, get depressed and show other signs of not clinging to Your life-giving Word as I should. For Jesus’ sake, forgive me, and give me the spiritual strength to cling even more securely to Your Word. Amen.

Notes:
Bob Devine, Uncle Bob’s Animal Stories (Moody Press, Chicago, IL, 1986), pp. 23-25. Photo: Barnacles. Courtesy of MichaelMaggs. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.