For He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6.

The grace of the LORD Jesus christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. 2 Corinthians 13:13.

We are citizens of heaven, where the LORD Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for Him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like His own, using the same power with which He will bring everything under His control. Philippians 3:20-21.

And continuing our 351 Old Testament prophecies, promises of God, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we come to number 143: His exaltation predicted. Psalm 97:9: For You are the LORD Most High over all the earth; You are exalted far above all gods. And, Acts 1:11; Ephesians 1:20: They also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” Which he brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

In Lift Up Your Eyes by Clyde E. Nichols today, he shared this poem from George Matheson who was born in 1842 in Glasgow, Scotland, and though blind as an adult, was a minister in Glasgow and Edinburgh and achieved so many accomplishments I couldn’t imagine living and achieving while blind. His impending blindness caused the woman he was engaged with to leave. His love for God grew stronger: “O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee; I give Thee back the life I owe that in Thine Ocean Depth its flow may richer, fuller be.”

In prayer I thought about the numberless to us, but not to God, people who have been born and will yet be born and each one unique and different in talents, gifts, weaknesses. I thought about two shows we watched last night in relation to my musings. The Last Ship showed the discipline and dedication to duty to protect of the Navy sailors on board a destroyer. Their discipline and dedication to protect and serve was sharply contrasted with the people whose dedication was to chaos and their own desire to overthrow all authority but their own. And then we watched the movie Project Hail Mary which shows a molecular biologist turned middle school science teacher who has the discipline of science, critical thinking and problem solving with the imagination and delight of having fun as he learns. He meets an alien shaped like rocks and befriends him as they work together in deep space to solve the problem plaguing both their worlds. Discipline. Imagination. Duty to protect. Honor. Friendship. Learning. Adapting. Can we begin to appreciate the richness of gifts and blessings God brings in His creating? The Ocean Depth of the Wisdom and Love and Understanding of Creator God, Father, Son, Spirit, that He would create such beauty and marvels as this universe and all of us. That we are capable of such whimsy – and of so much darkness – can stop us in our tracks of worry for our world until we consider and remember that all the confusions of this world are from turning away from trusting and loving Creator God who is our Creator of all we see created that is Good. But the joy in turning to Him is so much sweeter as we begin to trust and love Him. We think we have imagination? Could you even envision all of this? “O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee; I give Thee back the life I owe – that in Thine Ocean Depth – its flow may richer, fuller be!”

***LITANY OF HUMILITY – O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me. From the desire of being esteemed, deliver me, Jesus. From the desire of being extolled, of being honored, of being praised, of being preferred to others, of being consulted, of being approved, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being humiliated, deliver me, Jesus. From the fear of being despised, of being rebuked, of being neglected, of being forgotten, of being ridiculed, of being wronged, of being suspected, of being injured, deliver me, Jesus. That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. That others may be chosen and I set aside, that others may be praised and I unnoticed, that others may be holier than I, provided that I may become holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it. Attributed to Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930). Adapted.***