Through Treacherous Waters
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” [John 16:13]
Throughout history, sailors have told many remarkable stories of dolphins helping humans. One outstanding example is a dolphin that sailors called Pelorus Jack. For 24 years, from 1888 to 1912, this selfless animal volunteered to guide ships through the French Pass, a dangerous channel in Admiralty Bay off New Zealand. This treacherous channel, full of rocks and extremely strong currents, had been the site of hundreds of shipwrecks before the intervention of this dedicated dolphin.
Pelorus was very unique. He was a Risso’s dolphin, a species not commonly seen in New Zealand waters or anywhere near land. Yet his work was so reliable that ships reaching the entrance would wait for him to appear and guide them safely through the channel. He stayed with a ship up to 20 minutes, the time it took to cross the bay, playfully swimming alongside and surfing in the bow waves. There is no telling how many human lives Pelorus saved. Even well-known figures like Mark Twain saw and wrote of him.
Then one day a drunken passenger onboard the S.S. Penguin drew a gun and shot at Pelorus. When the furious crew saw the dolphin swimming away with blood pouring from his body, they came close to killing the witless man. After the shooting, Pelorus disappeared and ships had to negotiate through the deadly channel without help. But fortunately a few weeks later the dolphin returned, apparently recovered from his wound, and resumed his work of guiding ships through the channel – every ship except the Penguin, which he stayed clear of, and which wrecked several years later.
When Pelorus Jack returned, people demanded that he be protected by law. So on September 26, 1904, a government order declared the helpful dolphin a protected animal until he vanished eight years later. It is believed this is the first sea creature in history protected by a country.
God has always guided His people. He guided the Israelites with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. In this world, we face treacherous waters, but He has sent us a Guide to save us from wrecking. The Bible says that His Holy Spirit – the Spirit of truth – comes to us and will guide us “into all truth.”
