Lessons from the nihilist penguin
‘This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.”’ — Isaiah 30:15
‘Even if he caught him and brought him back to the colony, he would immediately head right back for the mountains—but why?’ — Werner Herzog, ‘Encounters at the End of the World’
Over the past couple of weeks, a penguin has taken the internet by storm—and not for the reasons you might think.
If you missed it, this particular penguin—an Adélie penguin, apparently—is the unexpected hero of a viral clip from Werner Herzog’s 2007 documentary, ‘Encounters at the End of the World’, shot in Antarctica (take a look here).
In the video, we watch on as the penguin breaks away from the colony, turns its back on its mates, and begins marching inland towards the distant mountains—away from its source of food, away from the protection of the group, and towards certain death.
In his narration of the scene, Werner Herzog voices the obvious question: ‘But why?’
What a penguin teaches us about our longing for more
Of course, it’s just a penguin. It’s not really that deep. I’m sure there are good scientific reasons for why it acted the way it did.
But what interested me is how this viral moment put a finger on something deeper—our longing for purpose and meaning.
The penguin’s lonely march to the mountains resonated with a desire so many of us feel—to escape the grind of modern life that often leaves us feeling burnt out, anxious and restless.
Even if they can’t quite articulate it, so many people sense that modern life and its idols—success, status, money, pleasure—haven’t delivered on their promises.
Instead of providing the satisfaction and freedom we’re looking for, the pursuit of these things only leaves us empty, exhausted and lost.
Disappointed and disillusioned, escape begins to feel like the answer.
Is escaping courageous, or is it cowardice? Either way, it can seem like the only way to satisfy our longing for more.
Hand in your notice. Book your ticket. Pack your bags. Start again somewhere new—the way to peace and freedom is found on the other side of escape, isn’t it?
Less dramatically, maybe you could just reinvent yourself by taking up new interests, new hobbies and new relationships—surely that will fill the emptiness?
Where are we to run?
Not escaping, but returning
God’s Word points us towards a much better, more glorious answer.
The purpose and peace we’re looking for doesn’t ultimately come from escaping our circumstances and creating a new life for ourselves—it comes from returning to and resting in Jesus.
Reflect, for a moment, on the verse that opened this email:
‘This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength. But you would have none of it.”’ — Isaiah 30:15
Surrounded by enemies and facing the Lord’s punishment, the people of Israel were facing an existential crisis—the future of their nation and their lives were under threat from the Assyrian empire.
The Lord, speaking through Isaiah, says something surprising—something that probably sounded absurd to a people facing imminent destruction.
The way to salvation was neither through escaping nor through fighting in their own power. It was only through returning and resting in Him that they would be delivered. Strength was to be found not in themselves, but in quiet confidence in the Lord.
And here’s where the penguin comes back in.
Like the people Isaiah was addressing, so many of us today feel surrounded and without a way out. We feel overwhelmed, anxious, and boxed in—not by physical enemies, but by the pressures, burdens and expectations of modern life.
Sometimes, like the penguin, escape feels like the way to salvation:
‘I’ll finally feel free when I get out of that workplace, that situation, that relationship.’
‘I’ll finally be at peace when I stop living for other people’s approval.’
‘Life will make sense when I just live “my truth” and forge my own path.’
God’s Word points us in an entirely different direction. The salvation we’re looking for isn’t from escaping our circumstances, but in returning to the One who made us.
We were made for Him—to know and be known by Him, to love and be loved by Him, and to live for His glory.
He alone saves us from our greatest need—not just the pressures and anxieties of the world around us, but the ultimate problem of the sin within us—by sending His Son to bear our guilt, carry our shame and share with us His righteousness.
He died a criminal’s death outside the city walls—alone, rejected and abandoned—so that we could be brought into relationship with His Father and experience the joy, love and peace He has enjoyed for all eternity.
He walked the loneliest road any human being has ever travelled so that we wouldn’t have to. He endured the oblivion of Calvary so that we could experience the bliss of restored relationship with His Father.
This is what we were made for.
This is what we were saved for.
This is the truth that our world is crying out for.
Not the vague hope of freedom symbolised by some viral penguin’s march to the mountains, but the real, substantial, satisfying hope that comes when we surrender everything to Jesus and receive the life that is in Him.
True life—the life we’re looking for—doesn’t come from escaping, but from returning: to the One who made us, loves us and provides for our every need.
Freedom comes neither from struggling on in our own strength nor running away from our circumstances—it comes from falling once again into His arms, embracing His purpose for our lives, and trusting that His ways are the best ways.
So, today, don’t follow the nihilist penguin towards the mountains.
Instead, run back to Jesus. Anchor yourself in Him and His promises. And be the one who tells others where true life is to be found—not by escaping, but by returning to and resting in Him.
He alone is ‘the way, the truth, and the life’ (John 14:6).
With love,
Mike
