Psalm 135 "For I know that The Lord is great, that our Lord is above all gods.  Whatever The Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in the deeps." v 5-6   The nations make idols of silver or gold, with no mouths that speak, no eyes that see, no ears that hear, no breath... no life.  The psalmist says that "Those who make them will be like them," v18.  If we worship anything else, besides The Lord, we become like it.  Does that mean if we worship the One and Only True Creator God, that we will be like Him?  Paul tells us ; "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of The Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from The Lord the Spirit." ( II Cor. 3:18)  We must keep our eyes on Him, Who is above all others.  We must worship Him alone.  We need to fix our gaze and our hearts on God, the Almighty, Who is transcendent, immutable, eternal, self-contained, perfect, infinite, and gracious God.  Lift up your eyes to the only True God.  Start thinking of Him more often, meditate on His "glorious splendor" and on His "wonderful works".  Do it right now.  Then tell it to your children, to your spouse, to your friends. Praise, brag, about God today. The Lord is great!

II Tim. 4  Paul says he is "poured out" and "the time of my departure has come".   He is confident that The Lord will take him home, to "His heavenly kingdom".  Paul is ready for the future.  His eyes are on his God!  Thomas a Kempis also had this kind of focus, endure everything with humility, giving up even your own will, because life in heaven will more than make up for it:  "For instead of that little of thy will, which now thou so readily forsakest, thou shalt always have thy will in heaven.  Yea, there thou shalt find all that thou canst wish, all that thou shalt be able to desire. There thou shalt have within thy reach all good, without fear of losing it. There shall thy will be ever one with me; it shall not covet any outward or selfish thing."   Heaven, the Kingdom of our God, will be worth every pain, every fear, every hurt, every mean word that we suffer for His sake.  Kempis ends this meditation with great advice, " this is what thou art to wish, that, whether it be by life or by death, God may be always glorified in thee."  That is how Paul lived.  Father, help me to also live this way.
I pray that this will be your prayer also. Amen.