MYSTERIOUS DEPTHS

By: Jessica Breazeale

Somewhere between Hawaii and the Philippines near the small island of Guam, far below the surface of the water, sits the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean. It’s 7 miles deep. What’s down there? 

The Trench sits like a crescent-shaped dent in the floor of the Pacific Ocean, extending over 1500 miles long with an average width around 43 miles and a depth of almost 7 miles (or just under 36,201 feet). 

Mt. Everest could fit in this spot.

At that depth, the weight of all that water above makes the pressure in the Trench around 1000 times higher than it would be in, say, Miami or New York. Floor vents release bubbles of liquid sulfur and carbon dioxide. Ancient lava that cooled and spread shaped this region of mystery.

Temperatures are just above freezing, and everything is drowning in darkness. Why is it so cold and so dark? Is it proof some things are just simply meant to remain unknown, unexplored, and a beautiful mystery by God’s design? 

Thousands of mollusks and worms have been discovered by a Chinese submersible in the Mariana Trench, almost six miles below sea level, and it is the deepest colony of animals ever observed to date.

Only 3 manned expeditions have ever explored the Mariana Trench. More people have been to the moon and back! To put this into perspective, it’s so deep that no light can penetrate these depths, yet many interesting living things have been discovered and have adapted there. 

A plastic bag was found at the bottom of the deepest place on our planet. This idea really brings “garbage to the surface”. For me, this is a reminder that we can’t seem to escape our trash…it follows us into the deepest of places. Our trash problem, in the literal sense and the metaphorical sense, is always lurking in the shadows.

The trash can stay on the bottom. The trash can rise to the top.

We either clean up the trash or leave it for someone else – or some other generation, to figure out.  

The trench is a vast, beautiful, and mysterious place yet to be fully explored.

Guess who’s been through all those depths and explored it all? The Creator formed Mariana Trench and knows every detail there. 

If God who knows every mystery of those depths and every creature extinct and yet to be discovered, wants to be known to us as a father, then it’s clear He cares immensely for his creation. 

How can He form the whole world in all its infinite, beautiful mysteries and yet consider us his most prized possessions?

I realize we don’t always feel like prizes. 

You might say “I’m in over my head. I’m too deep in this filth. Nothing can get me outta this deep pit.”

God can navigate the deepest, darkest places and show the pathway back. Who knows, it might even be an interesting exploration. Don’t fear the unknown. Explore it!

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