How Do They Know How?

Daily Devotional

Thy Word Is A Lamp Unto My Feet

“He has made the earth by his power,
he has established the world by his wisdom,
and has stretched out the heavens at his discretion.
When he utters his voice
there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and he causes the vapors to ascend
from the ends of the earth…”
Jeremiah 10:12-13

God’s wonders are seen everywhere.

In animals – what is “instinct”?

Instinct is something not learned. Every animal that is taken from birth will go on to do the very same thing their kind does “by instinct,” without having been taught.

When I had two canaries I observed the dance the male does as he prepares to inseminate the female. I remember wondering HOW he knew HOW to do that dance – I had taken both birds soon after hatching so they had no adult birds to teach them. It was one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever watched. I become filled with awe when I see what the world calls “instinct” in animals.

HOW do the birds know to fly south for the winter and then to come back to the very place from which they left, covering thousands of miles? HOW do they know how to fly in formation?

HOW do the salmon know to return back upstream from where they were spawned?

HOW do the squirrels know to stock up for the winter? HOW do they know there is going to BE a winter?

HOW does the bee know HOW to create the honey?

HOW does the spider know HOW to create the patterns in a web?

HOW does the beaver know to create dams?

And SO much more!

Add your own observations, what you’ve marveled at in the animal kingdom. The closer you observe, the more you will realize the greatness and wonder of our magnificent Creator.