21 November 2025

Pink/moon (working title), or maybe Rudder: today's Oblique Strategies advised “infinitesimal gradations,” which is timely—this is a painting of the moon or sun in the London winter sky made with many thin layers of white tinted by various intensities of red and blue. Tried to make the difference in the tints as subtle as possible, George Tooker's embossed inkless intaglios in mind. This toward defamiliarizing and holding anew the scene hovering above that has become so familiar in the past three years. Following the details of sensation right now above all else, paying attention to their peaks and valleys, trying to relax into circling around their elusive core.

Perseguimos las apariencias; lo que nos gusta, no lo que es. Y así nos topamos con el sufrimiento.

what heavens rupture long slender beast, how i hope

broken. brow furrows deep as rivers water watched. evergreen? entwined perhaps, once more. a lace upon —

warm honey, eyebright cooled, a constellation sewn...

[05.12.2025, fragment]

In 23 May 2020, I had the privilege of meeting Benjamin Suttmeier for a crash course on How To Scout Locations For City Photography.

On that evening, (8 PM with unbelievable humidity), he introduced me to the cool visual effect of light trails.

What is a light trail?

Here is an example, all the way from Spain.

Photo by Caleb Stokes on Unsplash.

And here are my results, after much trial-and-error (from twiddling with the knobs and dials on a camera that a friend recently gifted to me.)

Don't laugh, I tried my best. Say it is a masterpiece. Say it!

How to make a light trail

This sounds scary, but I'm going to introduce something called an Exposure Triangle.

Basically these are fundamental settings that determine how an image turns out after light passes through your camera. You may have heard that photography means “painting with light”, when you dig into the etymology.

So I adjusted the settings on my camera, according to a handy Cheat Sheet below.

cheat sheet is courtesy of an anonymous contributor.

As you may have guessed from the cheat sheet, I deliberately chose settings that let in more light, and which keep the shutter open for long enough for the vehicle lights to be “painted” into the final image.

Technically speaking, I used an aperture setting of 2.5 f-stops. And a shutter speed setting of ¼. And an ISO setting of 100.

Whew, that's a lot of words. I think I'm done with this blog post.

Thank you, Dan Nian and Jill, for the lovely camera, (a Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5).

#NSFW

This post is NSFW 19+ Adult content. Viewer discretion is advised.

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https://soundcloud.com/hustin_art/sets/shoko_takahashi/s-xOSEqfb54jO?si=7fde66447e21467aa12b2d9637f0f0e7&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

In Connection With This Post: Shoko Takahashi https://write.as/hustin/shoko-takahashi

Shoko Takahashi is not simply someone who “really, really wanted to do AV.” After her private sex tape was leaked and she came under intense pressure to be blacklisted from the entertainment industry, she chose to debut in AV—half willingly, half unwillingly. Debuting under the Muteki label itself symbolizes the fall-from-grace performance of an exiled angel—a kind of head-on breakthrough strategy. …

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There is a moment in every believer’s life when God stops whispering your purpose and starts sending you into it.

A moment where faith stops being a personal, private experience… and becomes a mission.

A moment where Jesus doesn’t just comfort you, heal you, or teach you—He commissions you.

Matthew 10 is that moment.

It is the chapter where Jesus looks into the eyes of ordinary men—men with flaws, men with fears, men with baggage, men with histories—and says, “Now go. It’s your turn.”

This is the chapter where heaven hands out assignments.

This is the chapter where disciples become messengers.

This is the chapter where followers become leaders.

This is the chapter where Jesus makes it clear: If you walk with Him long enough, He will eventually send you out with authority, with purpose, with a message, and with a calling that will challenge you, stretch you, transform you, and make you dangerous to the kingdom of darkness.

And Matthew 10 isn’t just historical. It’s spiritual. It’s personal. It’s present-tense.

Because Jesus is still calling. Jesus is still sending. Jesus is still commissioning His people into a world that desperately needs the hope, truth, and compassion of God.

And if you’re reading this right now, whether you realize it or not… You are one of the ones He is sending.

THE MOMENT JESUS CALLS YOUR NAME

Matthew begins the chapter by listing the Twelve—their names, their identities, their stories. The list is not random. It is a reminder. A testimony. A declaration.

God calls real people.

Not imaginary saints. Not perfect examples. Not spiritual superheroes.

Real people.

People with pasts. People with mistakes. People with reputations. People with doubts. People with tempers. People with questions. People with ordinary lives.

Peter, impulsive and outspoken. Andrew, quiet and steady. James and John, fiery and passionate. Matthew, the tax collector—public enemy number one to his own community. Thomas, the one who would battle doubt. Judas Iscariot, the one who would betray Him.

Yet Jesus called each of them by name.

Because the calling of God is never based on résumé—it is based on willingness.

Jesus isn’t looking for flawless vessels. He’s looking for surrendered hearts.

Matthew 10 is your chapter too. Because God does not wait until you have everything together to call you. In fact, He calls you so He can put everything together.

He calls you first. Then He shapes you. Then He sends you.

WHEN JESUS GIVES YOU HIS AUTHORITY

Before Jesus sends the disciples, He does something breathtaking:

He gives them His authority.

Authority over unclean spirits. Authority to heal sickness. Authority to restore what the world said was permanently broken.

This is not symbolic. This is not metaphorical. This is not poetic. This is real.

Jesus gives His followers supernatural authority to do supernatural work because the mission is too big, too intense, and too important to accomplish with human strength alone.

Matthew 10 reminds you of something we often forget:

When God calls you, He also equips you. When God sends you, He empowers you. When God assigns you, He backs you.

You are not walking into your calling with your own strength. You are walking in with heaven’s endorsement.

You are not stepping into your next season with your own confidence. You are stepping in with God’s authority.

You are not facing your battles with limited human resources. You are facing them with divine backing.

And when God gives you authority, the enemy recognizes it even before you do.

“GO ONLY TO THE LOST SHEEP OF ISRAEL”

Jesus gives His disciples a very specific first assignment:

“Go nowhere among the Gentiles… Go instead to the lost sheep of Israel.”

Why?

Because calling always begins with clarity.

He doesn’t send them to change the whole world in one trip. He sends them to one group, one area, one mission, one place where God has already prepared the soil.

Your calling has a starting point too.

You cannot fix everything. You cannot reach everyone. You cannot carry the whole world.

But you can start where God points you. You can begin with the people He places in front of you. You can speak life into the spaces you already occupy.

Sometimes the first step of your calling is closer, simpler, and more personal than you think.

Your home. Your workplace. Your friendships. Your children. Your church. Your community. Your online presence. Your circle of influence.

God often begins your ministry in the environment where your story is already known—because that is where His glory shines brightest.

“FREELY YOU HAVE RECEIVED, FREELY GIVE”

This line is the heartbeat of the entire chapter.

Jesus is not sending out salesmen. He is not sending out performers. He is not sending out spiritual celebrities. He is not sending out gatekeepers of grace.

He is sending out givers.

Givers of healing. Givers of compassion. Givers of comfort. Givers of truth. Givers of hope. Givers of mercy. Givers of the message that changed their own lives.

Your ministry—your calling—your purpose—is not meant to be complicated.

It’s meant to be generous.

God pours into you so you can pour into others. God heals you so you can carry healing. God restores you so you can speak restoration. God lifts you so you can lift others. God saves you so you can bring salvation to others.

You don’t need to impress people. You just need to bless them.

You don’t need to convince people. You just need to love them.

You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be available.

Because freely you have received. Now freely give.

“TAKE NO GOLD, NO BAG, NO EXTRA TUNIC”

This is the part of Matthew 10 that makes modern readers nervous.

Jesus tells them not to pack. Not to plan. Not to prepare the way we think preparation works.

He tells them to go in faith, travel light, and trust God for everything along the way.

Why?

Because calling requires dependence.

Not dependence on money. Not dependence on comfort. Not dependence on safety. Not dependence on security.

Dependence on God.

Your calling will always include moments where you feel underprepared, under-resourced, or under-qualified.

Not because God wants to expose your weakness… but because He wants to reveal His strength.

Your mission is not sustained by what you carry. It is sustained by who carries you.

God doesn’t give you everything you need in advance. He gives you what you need as you go.

Calling is not about being ready. Calling is about being willing.

WHEN JESUS SENDS YOU TO HARD PLACES

In the middle of this beautiful commissioning, Jesus gives a warning:

“I am sending you out as sheep among wolves.”

In other words:

Your purpose will not always feel safe. Your obedience will not always feel comfortable. Your mission will not always be applauded. Your faith will not always be welcomed.

Sometimes God sends you into environments where the atmosphere fights against who you’re becoming. Sometimes He sends you into rooms where the enemy hopes you’ll turn back. Sometimes He sends you into places where the resistance is strong because the impact will be even stronger.

But Jesus does not send you alone. And He does not send you unprotected.

He tells you to be wise. To be gentle. To be discerning. To be courageous. To be faithful.

Not reckless. Not naïve. Not fearful. Not silent.

And then Jesus gives a promise that anchors your soul:

“You will be given what to say.”

Not before. Not in advance. Not when you’re rehearsing.

But in the moment.

Because God’s presence doesn’t just walk with you—it speaks through you.

PERSECUTION ISN’T PROOF YOU DID ANYTHING WRONG

Matthew 10 is brutally honest:

You will be misunderstood. You will be criticized. You will be resisted. You will be talked about. You will be rejected. You will be misrepresented. You will be disliked for doing exactly what God called you to do.

But persecution is not punishment. Persecution is confirmation.

Opposition is not evidence that you’re off-track. Sometimes it is evidence that you’re finally on it.

Spiritual resistance often intensifies the moment your purpose becomes active.

Not because the enemy is stronger than you… but because he’s terrified of what your obedience will accomplish.

Matthew 10 teaches you this truth:

If Jesus faced resistance, you will too. If Jesus was criticized, you will be too. If Jesus was rejected, you will be too.

But if Jesus overcame, so will you. If Jesus endured, so will you. If Jesus completed His mission, so will you.

And then comes one of the most powerful lines in the chapter:

“The one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Not the smartest. Not the most talented. Not the most confident. Not the most experienced.

The one who stands.

Your future is not determined by how loudly the world roars— but by how deeply you remain rooted.

“DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEM”

Fear is one of the central themes Jesus confronts in Matthew 10.

Not fear of failure. Not fear of inadequacy. Not fear of imperfection.

Fear of people.

Because people can be intimidating. People can be unpredictable. People can be harsh. People can be judgmental. People can be critical. People can be loud. People can be wrong about you and loud about it.

And Jesus knew that the disciples—like you, like me—would face voices that tried to silence them, pressure that tried to break them, and opinions designed to discourage them.

So Jesus says:

“Do not be afraid of them.”

Why?

Because you don’t answer to them. You don’t belong to them. You don’t serve them. You don’t get your worth from them. You don’t get your direction from them. You don’t get your purpose from them.

You answer to God. You belong to Christ. You serve the Kingdom.

And Jesus anchors this command with a profound truth:

“Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed.”

Meaning:

The truth about your heart… the truth about your motives… the truth about your obedience… the truth about your calling… the truth about your faithfulness…

—all of it will be revealed in God’s timing.

You don’t need to defend yourself. You don’t need to convince your critics. You don’t need to justify your calling. You don’t need to protect your reputation.

God sees. God knows. God vindicates.

And the God who assigned you is the same God who will reveal the truth about you when the moment comes.

“WHAT I TELL YOU IN THE DARK, SPEAK IN THE LIGHT”

This line is one of the most intimate insights into how Jesus teaches.

There are things God whispers into your soul— in prayer, in tears, in worship, in solitude, in those quiet nights where nobody sees what you’re battling, in those early morning moments where He meets you before the world wakes up.

These are the moments where God shapes the message inside you.

The private place is where God plants the seed. The public place is where He expects it to grow.

Jesus says:

“What I tell you in the dark… Speak in the light.”

In other words:

Don’t hide the wisdom God taught you. Don’t bury the healing God gave you. Don’t minimize the breakthrough God delivered. Don’t silence the testimony God wrote in you. Don’t whisper what God told you to declare.

Your story is not meant to be locked inside you. Your lessons are not meant to be kept quiet. Your breakthroughs are not meant to be hidden.

Someone needs what God whispered to you. Someone’s heart depends on the story you’re scared to share. Someone’s faith is tied to your obedience. Someone’s strength is connected to your courage.

If God entrusted you with the message, He also entrusted someone else with the need to hear it.

“ARE NOT TWO SPARROWS SOLD FOR A PENNY?”

This is one of the most comforting truths Jesus ever gave us.

We live in a world where people judge your worth by your résumé, your bank account, your influence, your status, your job title, your achievements, your mistakes, your success, your failures, your appearance, your reputation.

But Jesus looks at sparrows— tiny, common birds that nobody pays attention to— and He says:

“Not one of them falls to the ground outside your Father’s care.”

Then He adds something even more personal:

“You are worth more than many sparrows.”

In a world that constantly tells you you’re not enough, Jesus says:

You are worth protecting. You are worth guiding. You are worth sending. You are worth empowering. You are worth saving. You are worth loving. You are worth dying for.

And then He goes even deeper:

“Even the hairs on your head are numbered.”

Not counted. Numbered.

Counting is general. Numbering is intimate.

This is not the love of a distant God. This is the love of a Father who watches over every detail of your existence.

So Jesus says:

“So do not be afraid.”

Because the One who sends you is the One who sustains you.

“WHOEVER DOES NOT TAKE UP THEIR CROSS AND FOLLOW ME IS NOT WORTHY OF ME”

This statement is not a threat— it is an invitation.

Jesus is not demanding perfection. He is explaining transformation.

The cross is not an accessory. It is not jewelry. It is not a symbol to decorate our faith.

It is a decision. A direction. A surrender.

Your cross is the willingness to lay down anything— fear, ego, comfort, pride, reputation, security— that prevents you from following Him fully.

Taking up your cross is not about suffering for suffering’s sake. It is about choosing Jesus over every competing desire, pressure, identity, or expectation.

It is about saying:

“Not my way. Not my plan. Not my comfort. Not my timing. Not my control. Your will, Lord.”

The cross is the gateway to the resurrected life. You cannot rise without dying to something first.

“WHOEVER RECEIVES YOU RECEIVES ME”

This is one of the most comforting, empowering truths in the whole chapter.

Jesus is saying:

“You represent Me. When they welcome you, they welcome Me. When they honor you, they honor Me. When they listen to you, they listen to Me.”

You are not walking into rooms alone. You are not entering conversations by yourself. You are not stepping into your calling without divine representation.

Heaven walks in with you.

And Jesus ends the chapter with this breathtaking promise:

“Anyone who gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones… will certainly not lose their reward.”

In other words:

Every act of compassion matters. Every act of kindness counts. Every moment of faithfulness is recorded. Every sacrifice is seen. Every obedience is honored.

God wastes nothing. He notices everything.

And He rewards every step you take in His name.

WHAT MATTHEW 10 MEANS FOR YOUR LIFE TODAY

Matthew 10 is more than a historical mission briefing. It is a blueprint for your calling. A roadmap for your purpose. A template for how God shapes ordinary believers into extraordinary messengers.

Here’s what it means for you today:

You are called by name. You are given authority. You are sent with purpose. You are supported by heaven. You are strengthened through opposition. You are protected by the Father. You are empowered by the Spirit. You are backed by Christ Himself.

Matthew 10 is the moment Jesus turns to you and says:

“You are ready. Go. You’ve been walking with Me long enough. Now walk for Me.”

And the world is waiting for the message God planted inside you.

A FINAL WORD FROM MY HEART TO YOURS

If there is one truth Matthew 10 whispers over your life, it’s this:

You are more called, more capable, and more covered than you think.

You may not feel ready. But God chose you anyway. You may not have everything you think you need. But heaven already equipped you. You may feel small. But your assignment is not. You may be afraid. But God is with you.

And when God sends you, nothing on earth—or in hell—can stop what He has planned for your life.

Walk boldly. Speak loudly. Stand firmly. Give generously. Love fiercely. Go faithfully.

Because the One who called you is the One who goes with you and the One who will finish what He started in you.

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In Summary: * My night's basketball game has been an early NCAA men's non-conference match-up between the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Kentucky Wildcats playing at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville TN as part of the Music City Madness Tournament. With Gonzaga leading from the opening tip and winning by a score of 94 to 59, there was no tension or excitement to interrupt the relaxing monotonous call of the game. Nice. It leaves me with an easy peaceful state of mind before bedtime.

Prayers, etc.: * My daily prayers

Health Metrics: * bw= 220.57 lbs. * bp= 133/79 (63)

Exercise: * kegel pelvic floor exercise, half squats, calf raises, wall push-ups

Diet: * 07:00 – 1 peanut butter sandwich * 08:00 – 1 fresh orange * 12:00 – baked fish and vegetables * 16:30 – 1 bean & cheese, breakfast taco

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 04:30 – listen to local news talk radio * 06:10 – bank accounts activity monitored * 06:55 – read, pray, follow news reports from various sources * 12:00 t0 14:00 – watch old game shows and eat lunch at home with Sylvia * 14:10 – follow news reports from various sources * 17:00 – listening to The Joe Pags Show * 18:00 – listening to NCAA men's basketball, Gonzaga Bulldogs at Kentucky Wildcats. * 20:10 – Gonzaga wins, 94 to 59. Time now to put on some relaxing music, finish my night prayers, and quietly read my way into an early bedtime.

Chess: * 14:30 – moved in all pending CC games

The pharmaceutical industry has always been a high-stakes gamble. For every drug that reaches pharmacy shelves, thousands of molecular candidates fall by the wayside, casualties of a discovery process that devours billions of pounds and stretches across decades. The traditional odds are brutally unfavourable: roughly one in 5,000 compounds that enter preclinical testing eventually wins regulatory approval, and the journey typically consumes 10 to 15 years and costs upwards of £2 billion. Now, artificial intelligence promises to rewrite these economics entirely, and the early evidence suggests it might actually deliver.

In laboratories from Boston to Shanghai, scientists are watching algorithms design antibodies from scratch, predict protein structures with atomic precision, and compress drug discovery timelines from years into months. These aren't incremental improvements but fundamental shifts in how pharmaceutical science operates, driven by machine learning systems that can process biological data at scales and speeds no human team could match. The question is no longer whether AI can accelerate drug discovery, but rather how reliably it can do so across diverse therapeutic areas, and what safeguards the industry needs to translate computational leads into medicines that are both safe and effective.

The Computational Revolution in Molecular Design

Consider David Baker's laboratory at the University of Washington's Institute for Protein Design. In work published during 2024, Baker's team used a generative AI model called RFdiffusion to design antibodies entirely from scratch, achieving what the field had long considered a moonshot goal. These weren't antibodies optimised from existing templates but wholly novel molecules, computationally conceived and validated through rigorous experimental testing including cryo-electron microscopy. The structural agreement between predicted and actual configurations was remarkable, with root-mean-square deviation values as low as 0.3 angstroms for individual complementarity-determining regions.

Previously, no AI systems had demonstrated they could produce high-quality lead antibodies from scratch in a way that generalises across protein targets and antibody formats. Baker's team reported AI-aided discovery of antibodies that bind to an influenza protein common to all viral strains, plus antibodies that block a potent toxin produced by Clostridium difficile. By shifting antibody design from trial-and-error wet laboratory processes to rational computational workflows, the laboratory compressed discovery timelines from years to weeks.

The implications ripple across the pharmaceutical landscape. Nabla Bio created JAM, an AI system designed to generate de novo antibodies with favourable affinities across soluble and difficult-to-drug membrane proteins, including CXCR7, one member of the family of approximately 800 GPCR membrane proteins that have historically resisted traditional antibody development.

Absci announced the ability to create and validate de novo antibodies in silico using zero-shot generative AI. The company reported designing the first antibody capable of binding to a protein target on HIV known as the caldera region, a previously difficult-to-drug epitope. In February 2024, Absci initiated IND-enabling studies for ABS-101, a potential best-in-class anti-TL1A antibody, expecting to submit an investigational new drug application in the first quarter of 2025. The company claims its Integrated Drug Creation platform can advance AI-designed development candidates in as few as 14 months, potentially reducing the journey from concept to clinic from six years down to 18-24 months.

Where AI Delivers Maximum Impact

The drug discovery pipeline comprises distinct phases, each with characteristic challenges and failure modes. AI's impact varies dramatically depending on which stage you examine. The technology delivers its most profound advantages in early discovery: target identification, hit discovery, and lead optimisation, where computational horsepower can evaluate millions of molecular candidates simultaneously.

Target identification involves finding the biological molecules, typically proteins, that play causal roles in disease. Recursion Pharmaceuticals built the Recursion Operating System, a platform that has generated one of the largest fit-for-purpose proprietary biological and chemical datasets globally, spanning 65 petabytes across phenomics, transcriptomics, in vivo data, proteomics, and ADME characteristics. Their automated wet laboratory utilises robotics and computer vision to capture millions of cell experiments weekly, feeding data into machine learning models that identify novel therapeutic targets with unprecedented systematic rigour.

Once targets are identified, hit discovery begins. This is where AI's pattern recognition capabilities shine brightest. Insilico Medicine used AI to identify a novel drug target and design a lead molecule for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, advancing it through preclinical testing to Phase I readiness in under 18 months, a timeline that would have been impossible using traditional methods. The company's platform nominated ISM5411 as a preclinical candidate for inflammatory bowel disease in January 2022 after only 12 months to synthesise and screen approximately 115 molecules. Their fastest preclinical candidate nomination was nine months for the QPCTL programme.

Lead optimisation also benefits substantially from AI. Exscientia reports a 70 percent faster lead-design cycle coupled with an 80 percent reduction in upfront capital. The molecule DSP-1181, developed with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma, moved from project start to clinical trial in 12 months, compared to approximately five years normally. Exscientia was the first company to advance an AI-designed drug candidate into clinical trials.

However, AI's advantages diminish in later pipeline stages. Clinical trial design, patient recruitment, and safety monitoring still require substantial human expertise and regulatory oversight. As compounds progress from Phase I through Phase III studies, rate-limiting factors shift from molecular design to clinical execution and regulatory review.

The Reliability Question

The pharmaceutical industry has grown justifiably cautious about overhyped technologies. What does the empirical evidence reveal about AI's actual success rates?

The early data looks genuinely promising. As of December 2023, AI-discovered drugs that completed Phase I trials showed success rates of 80 to 90 percent, substantially higher than the roughly 40 percent success rate for traditionally discovered molecules. Out of 24 AI-designed molecules that entered Phase I testing, 21 successfully passed, yielding an 85 to 88 percent success rate nearly double the historical benchmark.

For Phase II trials, success rates for AI-discovered molecules sit around 40 percent, comparable to historical averages. This reflects the reality that Phase II trials test proof-of-concept in patient populations, where biological complexity creates challenges that even sophisticated AI cannot fully predict from preclinical data. If current trends continue, analysts project the probability of a molecule successfully navigating all clinical phases could increase from 5 to 10 percent historically to 9 to 18 percent for AI-discovered candidates.

The number of AI-discovered drug candidates entering clinical stages is growing exponentially. From three candidates in 2016, the count reached 17 in 2020 and 67 in 2023. AI-native biotechnology companies and their pharmaceutical partners have entered 75 AI-discovered molecules into clinical trials since 2015, demonstrating a compound annual growth rate exceeding 60 percent.

Insilico Medicine provides a useful case study. By December 31, 2024, the company had nominated 22 developmental candidates from its own chemistry and biology platform, with 10 programmes progressing to human clinical stage, four completed Phase I studies, and one completed Phase IIa. In January 2025, Insilico announced positive results from two Phase I studies in Australia and China of ISM5411, a novel gut-restricted PHD inhibitor that proved generally safe and well tolerated.

The company's lead drug INS018_055 (rentosertib) reached Phase IIa trials for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a devastating disease with limited treatment options. Following publication of a Nature Biotechnology paper in early 2024 presenting the entire journey from AI algorithms to Phase II clinical trials, Insilico announced positive results showing favourable safety and dose-dependent response in forced vital capacity after only 12 weeks. The company is preparing a Phase IIb proof-of-concept study to be initiated in 2025, representing a critical test of whether AI-discovered drugs can demonstrate the robust efficacy needed for regulatory approval.

Yet not everything proceeds smoothly. Recursion Pharmaceuticals, despite securing partnerships with Roche, Sanofi, and Bayer, recently announced it was shelving three advanced drug prospects following its 2024 merger with Exscientia. The company halted development of drugs for cerebral cavernous malformation and neurofibromatosis type II in mid-stage testing, choosing to focus resources on programmes with larger commercial potential. Exscientia itself had to deprioritise its cancer drug EXS-21546 after early-stage trials and pare back its pipeline to focus on CDK7 and LSD1 oncology programmes. These strategic retreats illustrate that AI-discovered drugs face the same clinical and commercial risks as traditionally discovered molecules.

The Validation Imperative

The gap between computational prediction and experimental reality represents one of the most critical challenges. Machine learning models train on available data, but biological systems exhibit complexity that even sophisticated algorithms struggle to capture fully, creating an imperative for rigorous experimental validation.

Traditional QSAR-based models faced problems including small training sets, experimental data errors, and lack of thorough validation. Modern AI approaches address these limitations through iterative cycles integrating computational prediction with wet laboratory testing. Robust iteration between teams proves critical because data underlying any model remains limited and biased by the experiments that generated it.

Companies like Absci report that initially, their computational designs exhibited modest affinity, but subsequent affinity maturation techniques such as OrthoRep improved binding strength to single-digit nanomolar levels whilst preserving epitope selectivity. This demonstrates that AI provides excellent starting points, but optimisation through experimental iteration often proves necessary.

The validation paradigm is shifting. In traditional drug discovery, wet laboratory experiments dominated from start to finish. In the emerging paradigm, in silico experiments could take projects almost to the endpoint, with wet laboratory validation serving as final confirmation that ensures only the best candidates proceed to clinical trials.

Generate Biomedicines exemplifies this integrated approach. The company's Generative Biology platform trains on the entire compendium of protein structures and sequences found in nature, supplemented with proprietary experimental data, to learn generalisable rules by which amino acid sequences encode protein structure and function. Their generative model Chroma can produce designs for proteins with specific properties. To validate predictions, Generate opened a cryo-electron microscopy laboratory in Andover, Massachusetts, that provides high-resolution structural data feeding back into the AI models.

However, challenges persist. Generative AI often suggests compounds that prove challenging or impossible to synthesise, or that lack drug-like properties such as appropriate solubility, stability, or bioavailability. Up to 40 percent of antibody candidates fail in clinical trials due to unanticipated developability issues, costing billions of pounds annually.

Intellectual Property in the Age of Algorithmic Invention

Who owns a drug that an algorithm designed? This question opens a labyrinth of legal complexity that the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are only beginning to navigate.

Under United States patent law, inventorship is strictly reserved for natural persons. The 2022 Thaler v. Vidal decision rejected patent applications listing DABUS, an AI system, as the sole inventor. However, the United States Patent and Trademark Office's 2024 guidance clarified that AI-assisted inventions remain patentable if a human provides a significant contribution to either conception or reduction to practice.

The critical phrase is “significant contribution.” In most cases, a human merely reducing an AI invention to practice does not constitute sufficient contribution. However, iterating on and improving an AI output can clear that bar. Companies that develop AI systems focused on specific issues have indicia of human contribution from the outset, for example by identifying binding affinity requirements and in vivo performance specifications, then developing AI platforms to generate drug candidates with those properties.

This creates strategic imperatives for documentation. It's critical to thoroughly document the inventive process including both AI and human contributions, detailing specific acts humans undertook beyond mere verification of AI outputs. Without such documentation, companies risk having patent applications rejected or granted patents later invalidated.

International jurisdictions add complexity. The European Patent Office requires “technical contribution” beyond mere data analysis. AI drug discovery tools need to improve experimental methods or manufacturing processes to qualify under EPO standards. China's revised 2024 guidelines allow AI systems to be named as co-inventors if humans oversee their output, though enforcement remains inconsistent.

Pharmaceutical companies increasingly turn to hybrid approaches. Relay Therapeutics combines strategies by patenting drug candidates whilst keeping molecular dynamics simulations confidential. Yet complications arise: whilst Recursion Pharmaceuticals has multiple AI-optimised small molecule compounds in clinical development, several (REC-2282 and REC-4881) were known and patented by other parties, requiring Recursion to obtain licences. Even sophisticated AI systems may rediscover molecules that already exist in the intellectual property landscape.

Regulatory Pathways

Regulatory agencies face an unprecedented challenge: how do you evaluate drugs designed by systems you cannot fully interrogate? The United States Food and Drug Administration issued its first guidance on the use of AI for drug and biological product development in January 2025, providing a risk-based framework for sponsors to assess and establish the credibility of an AI model for particular contexts of use.

This represents a critical milestone. Since 2016, the use of AI in drug development and regulatory submissions has exponentially increased. CDER's experience includes over 500 submissions with AI components from 2016 to 2023, yet formal guidance remained absent until now. The framework addresses how sponsors should validate AI models, document training data provenance and quality, and demonstrate that model outputs are reliable for their intended regulatory purpose.

The fundamental principle remains unchanged: new drugs must undergo rigorous testing and evaluation to gain FDA approval regardless of how they were designed. However, this can prove more challenging for generative AI because underlying biology and mechanisms of action may not be sufficiently understood. When an AI system identifies a novel target through pattern recognition across vast datasets, human researchers may struggle to articulate the mechanistic rationale that regulators typically expect.

Regulatory submissions for AI-designed drugs need to include not only traditional preclinical and clinical data, but also detailed information about the AI system itself: training data sources and quality, model architecture and validation, limitations and potential biases, and the rationale for trusting model predictions.

As of 2024, there are no on-market medications developed using an AI-first pipeline, though many are progressing through clinical trials. The race to become first carries both prestige and risk: the inaugural approval will establish precedents that shape regulatory expectations for years to come.

The medical device sector provides instructive precedents. Through 2025, the FDA has authorised over 1,000 AI-enabled medical devices, developing institutional experience with evaluating AI systems. Drug regulation, however, presents distinct challenges: whilst medical device AI often assists human decision-making, drug discovery AI makes autonomous design decisions that directly determine molecular structures.

Business Models and Partnership Structures

The business models emerging at the intersection of AI and drug discovery exhibit remarkable diversity. Some companies pursue proprietary pipelines, others position themselves as platform providers, and many adopt hybrid approaches balancing proprietary programmes with strategic partnerships.

Recent deals demonstrate substantial valuations attached to proven AI capabilities. AstraZeneca agreed to pay more than £4 billion to CSPC Pharmaceutical Group for access to its AI platform and a portfolio of preclinical cancer drugs, one of the largest AI biotech deals to date. Sanofi unveiled a £1.3 billion agreement with Earendil Labs in April 2024. Pfizer invested £15 million in equity with CytoReason, with the option to licence the platform in a deal that could reach £85 million over five years.

Generate Biomedicines secured a collaboration with Amgen worth up to £1.5 billion across five co-development programmes in oncology, immunology, and infectious diseases. These deals reflect pharmaceutical companies' recognition that internal AI capabilities may lag behind specialised AI biotechs, making strategic partnerships the fastest route to accessing cutting-edge technology.

Morgan Stanley Research believes that modest improvements in early-stage drug development success rates enabled by AI could lead to an additional 50 novel therapies over a 10-year period, translating to more than £40 billion in opportunity. The McKinsey Global Institute projects generative AI will deliver £48 to £88 billion annually in pharmaceutical value, largely by accelerating early discovery and optimising resource allocation.

Partnership structures must address complex questions around intellectual property allocation, development responsibilities, financial terms, and commercialisation rights. Effective governance structures, both formal contractual mechanisms and informal collaborative norms, prove essential for partnership success.

The high-profile merger between Recursion Pharmaceuticals and Exscientia, announced in August 2024 with a combined valuation of approximately £430 million, represents consolidation amongst AI biotechs to achieve scale advantages and diversified pipelines. The merged entity subsequently announced pipeline cuts to extend its financial runway into mid-2027, illustrating ongoing capital efficiency pressures facing the sector.

The AlphaFold Revolution

No discussion of AI in drug discovery can ignore AlphaFold, DeepMind's protein structure prediction system that won the 14th Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction competition in December 2020. Considered by many as AI's greatest contribution to scientific fields and one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century, AlphaFold2 reshaped structural biology and created unprecedented opportunities for research.

The system's achievement was predicting protein structures with experimental-grade accuracy from amino acid sequences alone. For decades, determining a protein's three-dimensional structure required time-consuming and expensive experimental techniques, often taking months or years per protein. AlphaFold2 compressed this process to minutes, and DeepMind released structural predictions for over 200 million proteins, effectively solving the structure prediction problem for the vast majority of known protein sequences.

The implications for drug discovery proved immediate and profound. By accurately predicting target protein structures, researchers can design drugs that specifically bind to these proteins. The AlphaFold2 structures were utilised to construct the first pocket library for all proteins in the human proteome through the CavitySpace database, which can be applied to identify novel targets for known drugs in drug repurposing.

Virtual ligand screening became dramatically more accessible. With predicted structures available for previously uncharacterised targets, researchers can computationally evaluate how small molecules or biological drugs might bind and identify promising candidates without extensive experimental screening. This accelerates early discovery and expands the druggable proteome to include targets that were previously intractable.

AlphaFold3, released subsequently, extended these capabilities to predict the structure and interactions of all life's molecules with unprecedented accuracy. The system achieves remarkable precision in predicting drug-like interactions, including protein-ligand binding and antibody-target protein interactions. Millions of researchers globally have used AlphaFold2 to make discoveries in areas including malaria vaccines, cancer treatments, and enzyme design.

However, AlphaFold doesn't solve drug discovery single-handedly. Knowing a protein's structure doesn't automatically reveal how to drug it effectively, what selectivity a drug molecule needs to avoid off-target effects, or how a compound will behave in complex in vivo environments. Structure is necessary but not sufficient.

Cautionary Tales and Realistic Expectations

The enthusiasm around AI in drug discovery must be tempered with realistic assessment. The technology is powerful but not infallible, and the path from computational prediction to approved medicine remains long and uncertain.

Consider that as of 2024, despite years of development and billions in investment, no AI-first drug has reached the market. The candidates advancing through clinical trials represent genuine progress, but they haven't yet crossed the ultimate threshold: demonstrating in large, well-controlled clinical trials that they are safe and effective enough to win regulatory approval.

A Nature article in 2023 warned that “AI's potential to accelerate drug discovery needs a reality check,” cautioning that the field risks overpromising and underdelivering. Previous waves of computational drug discovery enthusiasm, from structure-based design in the 1990s to systems biology in the 2000s, generated substantial hype but modest real-world impact.

The data quality problem represents a persistent challenge. Machine learning systems are only as good as their training data, and biological datasets often contain errors, biases, and gaps. Models trained on noisy data will perpetuate and potentially amplify these limitations.

The “black box” problem creates both scientific and regulatory concerns. Deep learning models make predictions through layers of mathematical transformations that can be difficult or impossible to interpret mechanistically. This opacity creates challenges for troubleshooting when predictions fail and for satisfying regulatory requirements for mechanistic understanding.

Integration challenges between AI teams and traditional pharmaceutical organisations also create friction. Drug discovery requires deep domain expertise in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical medicine. AI systems can augment but not replace this expertise. Organisations must successfully integrate computational and experimental teams, aligning incentives and workflows. This cultural integration proves harder than technical integration in many cases.

The capital intensity of drug development means that even dramatic improvements in early discovery efficiency may not transform overall economics as much as proponents hope. If AI compresses preclinical timelines from six years to two and improves Phase I success rates from 40 percent to 85 percent, clinical development from Phase II through approval still requires many years and hundreds of millions of pounds.

The Transformative Horizon

Despite caveats and challenges, the trajectory of AI in drug discovery points toward transformation rather than incremental change. The technology is still in early stages, analogous perhaps to the internet in the mid-1990s: clearly important, but with most applications and business models still to be developed.

Several technological frontiers promise to extend AI's impact. Multi-modal models that integrate diverse data types could capture biological complexity more comprehensively than current approaches. Active learning approaches, where AI systems guide experimental work by identifying the most informative next experiments, could accelerate iteration between computational and experimental phases.

The extension of AI into clinical development represents a largely untapped opportunity. Current systems focus primarily on preclinical discovery, but machine learning could also optimise trial design, identify suitable patients, predict which subpopulations will respond to therapy, and detect safety signals earlier. Recursion Pharmaceuticals is expanding AI focus to clinical trials, recognising that later pipeline stages offer substantial room for improvement.

Foundation models trained on massive biological datasets, analogous to large language models like GPT-4, may develop emergent capabilities that narrow AI systems lack. These models could potentially transfer learning across therapeutic areas, applying insights from oncology to inform neuroscience programmes.

The democratisation of AI tools could also accelerate progress. As platforms become more accessible, smaller biotechs and academic laboratories that lack substantial AI expertise could leverage the technology. Open-source models and datasets, such as AlphaFold's freely available protein structures, exemplify this democratising potential.

Regulatory adaptation will continue as agencies gain experience evaluating AI-discovered drugs. The frameworks emerging now will evolve as regulators develop institutional knowledge about validation standards and how to balance encouraging innovation with ensuring patient safety.

Perhaps most intriguingly, AI could expand the druggable proteome and enable entirely new therapeutic modalities. Many disease-relevant proteins have been considered “undruggable” because they lack obvious binding pockets for small molecules or prove difficult to target with conventional antibodies. AI systems that can design novel protein therapeutics, peptides, or other modalities tailored to these challenging targets might unlock therapeutic opportunities that were previously inaccessible.

The pharmaceutical industry stands at an inflection point. The early successes of AI in drug discovery are substantial enough to command attention and investment, whilst the remaining challenges are tractable enough to inspire confidence that solutions will emerge. The question is no longer whether AI will transform drug discovery but rather how quickly and completely that transformation will unfold.

For patients waiting for treatments for rare diseases, aggressive cancers, and other conditions with high unmet medical need, the answer matters enormously. If AI can reliably compress discovery timelines, improve success rates, and expand the range of treatable diseases, it represents far more than a technological curiosity. It becomes a tool for reducing suffering and extending lives.

The algorithms won't replace human researchers, but they're increasingly working alongside them as partners in the search for better medicines. And based on what's emerging from laboratories worldwide, that partnership is beginning to deliver on its considerable promise.

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Sources and References

1. Radical Ventures. “An AI-driven Breakthrough in De Novo Antibody Design.” https://radical.vc/an-ai-driven-breakthrough-in-de-novo-antibody-design/

2. Science/AAAS. “AI conjures up potential new antibody drugs in a matter of months.” https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-conjures-potential-new-antibody-drugs-matter-months

3. Frontiers in Drug Discovery. “AI-accelerated therapeutic antibody development: practical insights.” https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/drug-discovery/articles/10.3389/fddsv.2024.1447867/full

4. PubMed Central. “AI In Action: Redefining Drug Discovery and Development.” PMC11800368. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11800368/

5. ScienceDirect. “How successful are AI-discovered drugs in clinical trials? A first analysis and emerging lessons.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S135964462400134X

6. BioSpace. “Biopharma AI Collaborations Driving Innovative Change in Drug Development.” https://www.biospace.com/article/biopharma-ai-collaborations-driving-innovative-change-in-drug-development-/

7. Morgan Stanley. “AI Drug Discovery: Leading to New Medicines.” https://www.morganstanley.com/ideas/ai-drug-discovery

8. FDA. “FDA Proposes Framework to Advance Credibility of AI Models Used for Drug and Biological Product Submissions.” January 2025. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-proposes-framework-advance-credibility-ai-models-used-drug-and-biological-product-submissions

9. Fenwick & West LLP. “Unpacking AI-Assisted Drug Discovery Patents.” https://www.fenwick.com/insights/publications/unpacking-ai-assisted-drug-discovery-patents

10. Ropes & Gray LLP. “Patentability Risks Posed by AI in Drug Discovery.” October 2024. https://www.ropesgray.com/en/insights/alerts/2024/10/patentability-risks-posed-by-ai-in-drug-discovery

11. PR Newswire. “Insilico Received Positive Topline Results from Two Phase 1 Trials of ISM5411.” January 2025. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/insilico-received-positive-topline-results-from-two-phase-1-trials-of-ism5411-new-drug-designed-using-generative-ai-for-the-treatment-of-inflammatory-bowel-disease-302344176.html

12. EurekAlert. “Insilico Medicine announces developmental candidate benchmarks and timelines.” 2024. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1073344

13. Clinical Trials Arena. “Insilico's AI drug enters Phase II IPF trial.” https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/insilico-medicine-ins018055-ai/

14. UKRI. “Exscientia: a clinical pipeline for AI-designed drug candidates.” https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/how-we-are-doing/research-outcomes-and-impact/bbsrc/exscientia-a-clinical-pipeline-for-ai-designed-drug-candidates/

15. FierceBiotech. “AI drug hunter Exscientia chops down 'rapidly emerging pipeline' to focus on 2 main oncology programs.” https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/ai-drug-hunter-exscientia-chops-down-rapidly-emerging-pipeline-focus-2-main-oncology

16. Recursion Pharmaceuticals. “Pioneering AI Drug Discovery.” https://www.recursion.com

17. BioPharma Dive. “AI specialist Recursion trims pipeline in latest shakeup.” https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/recursion-pipeline-cuts-first-quarter-earnings/747119/

18. Ardigen. “Where AI Meets Wet-Lab: A Smarter Path to Biologics Discovery Success.” https://ardigen.com/where-ai-meets-wet-lab-a-smarter-path-to-biologics-discovery-success/

19. GEN News. “AI in Drug Discovery: Trust, but Verify.” https://www.genengnews.com/topics/drug-discovery/ai-in-drug-discovery-trust-but-verify/

20. Nature. “AlphaFold2 and its applications in the fields of biology and medicine.” Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-023-01381-z

21. Google DeepMind Blog. “AlphaFold 3 predicts the structure and interactions of all of life's molecules.” https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-deepmind-isomorphic-alphafold-3-ai-model/

22. Absci Corporation. “Absci Initiates IND-Enabling Studies for ABS-101.” February 2024. https://investors.absci.com/news-releases/news-release-details/absci-initiates-ind-enabling-studies-abs-101-potential-best

23. Absci Corporation. “Absci First to Create and Validate De Novo Antibodies with Zero-Shot Generative AI.” https://investors.absci.com/news-releases/news-release-details/absci-first-create-and-validate-de-novo-antibodies-zero-shot

24. Generate:Biomedicines. “Generative Biology.” https://generatebiomedicines.com/generative-biology

25. Business Wire. “Generate Biomedicines Uses AI to Create Proteins That Have Never Existed.” December 1, 2022. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20221201005267/en/Generate-Biomedicines-Uses-AI-to-Create-Proteins-That-Have-Never-Existed

26. Chemical & Engineering News. “Generate Biomedicines opens cryo-EM lab to feed data back into its protein design algorithms.” https://cen.acs.org/pharmaceuticals/drug-discovery/Generate-Biomedicines-opens-cryo-EM/101/i23

27. Nature. “AI's potential to accelerate drug discovery needs a reality check.” 2023. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03172-6

28. ScienceDirect. “New Horizons in Therapeutic Antibody Discovery: Opportunities and Challenges versus Small-Molecule Therapeutics.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2472555222072173

29. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery. “The company landscape for artificial intelligence in large-molecule drug discovery.” https://www.nature.com/articles/d41573-023-00139-0

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Tim Green UK-based Systems Theorist & Independent Technology Writer

Tim explores the intersections of artificial intelligence, decentralised cognition, and posthuman ethics. His work, published at smarterarticles.co.uk, challenges dominant narratives of technological progress while proposing interdisciplinary frameworks for collective intelligence and digital stewardship.

His writing has been featured on Ground News and shared by independent researchers across both academic and technological communities.

ORCID: 0009-0002-0156-9795 Email: tim@smarterarticles.co.uk

Hello World!

Piles of stones. So many piles of stones.

Oh, early morning hours— when did we fall to odds? You were the finest part of me, now turned traitor.

When I lie still in the dark, I’m not greeted by the gentle light that once woke the room— but a blackness darker still, one that swallows even starlight into dim memory.

Distraction and prayer are my only weapons against you. And they work— but only while I wield them. As sleep loosens its grip and I drift toward waking, they slip from my hands and you return, washing over me like a tide.

Damn you, darkness. Leave me be. Stop trying to snuff out my lights. And there are so many lights. Fields of my mind lit by torches, bonfires carried by the ones who love me, who worry for me. Yet your cold, slick flood rises again and I begin to drown in your shallow, merciless four inches of despair

Well then— do your damnedest, old foe. I am not finished.

Light will win.
The faithful always meet again. There is no timeline
where you take the final victory. Knock me down— I’ll rise again from dust and ash and start anew.

I will take your power. I will ride your lightning. I will reshape you— not as a lament, but as something ornate, moving, and beautiful.

Love always,
Charlie

Pluribus Episode 6: HDP

See 100 Word reviews of previous episodes here

Episode 5 cliffhanger revealed: Carol turned vlogger and documented the frozen, shrink-wrapped body parts that fuel the Others' Human-Derived Protein drink. The cannibalism is explained by the body, mouth, but not the brain, of John Cena.

Diabaté returns in a glorious scene. He informs Carol that she is not in the private chat.

Motivated by Carol’s video, Manousos in Paraguay sets off to find her, but runs into “Mom.”

Gilligan served the obvious while shrugging it off. No narrative-changing reveals, just practical explanations of the Hive’s moral code. He provides plot answers, leaving us with bigger philosophical questions.

Watch it.

#tv #Pluribus #SciFi #VinceGilligan #AppleTV #Television #100WordReview #Larrys100 #100DaysToOffload #socialmedia

Usually my mind is potent, l I’ll just go grab a string of pearls from there

Like a necklace

Which I show to everybody’s delight

My brain

It used to be full of thoughts

But now there is nothing there

No strings of pearls.

It’s just like the inside of an empty oil barrel

And

I have no thoughts on that fact

But

But

From where then, would someone might ask that: why is this state of mind then so beautifully (arguably) described?

Do I have more barrels than one or something?

There are chapters in Scripture that don’t just tell you what Jesus did—they tell you what Jesus is still doing.

Matthew 9 is one of them.

This isn’t a chapter filled with quiet theology or gentle parables. Matthew 9 is motion. It is urgency. It is compassion exploding through every barrier. It is power meeting pain, authority colliding with impossibility, and mercy rewriting the lives of people who believed their story was already finished.

When you walk through Matthew 9 slowly—line by line, moment by moment—you begin to feel something shift inside you. Because this chapter does not simply introduce you to Jesus the miracle-worker. It introduces you to Jesus the interrupter. Jesus the restorer. Jesus the one who steps into the middle of your chaos and says, “Get up. I’m not done with you.”

And if there is anything people need today, it’s this reminder: Jesus is not finished with you. Not with your past. Not with your healing. Not with your faith. Not with your future. Not with the parts of your story you haven’t told another soul.

Matthew 9 is the proof.

Let’s walk through it—slowly, deeply, personally—because this is not ancient history. This is a map for your own transformation.

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THE PARALYZED MAN — FOR EVERY PERSON WHO FEELS STUCK

Matthew opens the chapter with a shocking moment: a group of friends carries a paralyzed man to Jesus. Not gently. Not politely. Mark tells us they literally ripped open a roof to lower him down.

That’s what desperation looks like. That’s what faith looks like when you’ve run out of options.

But here is the part most people miss:

The man was paralyzed physically, but his friends refused to be paralyzed spiritually.

How many times have you felt stuck in life? Stuck in fear. Stuck in shame. Stuck in old patterns. Stuck in the belief that things will never change.

Jesus looks at this man and says something nobody expected:

“Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

Jesus didn’t begin with the legs. He began with the heart.

Because Jesus always goes to the wound beneath the wound.

Yes, we want God to fix the job situation… fix the relationship… fix the finances… fix the anxiety…

But sometimes Jesus looks deeper and says, “Let Me heal the guilt you’ve been carrying. Let Me free the shame you’ve been hiding. Let Me restore what no one else can see.”

Then He says the words that echo across centuries:

“Get up.”

And he does.

This is the Jesus of Matthew 9— the Jesus who lifts you from places you didn’t believe you’d ever rise from again.

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THE TAX COLLECTOR — FOR EVERY PERSON WHO FEELS TOO BROKEN TO BE CHOSEN

Next, Jesus walks up to a tax collector named Matthew.

Everyone hated tax collectors. They were seen as greedy, corrupt, traitors to their own people.

If you asked the religious leaders who deserved God’s attention, Matthew wouldn't even make the list.

And Jesus says to him:

“Follow Me.”

Not, “Fix your life first.” Not, “Earn your way.” Not, “Prove that you’re worthy.”

Simply: “Follow Me.”

Jesus doesn’t recruit the impressive. He recruits the available. He chooses the unexpected. He calls the ones everyone else rejected.

That means He can use you—even the parts of you that you think disqualify you.

Because God doesn’t call the perfect. He perfects the called.

And Matthew does something world-changing:

He got up and followed Him.

Sometimes the holiest thing you can do… is just get up.

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THE QUESTION ABOUT FASTING — FOR EVERY PERSON WHO FEELS LIKE THEY DON’T FIT THE EXPECTATIONS OF RELIGION

The religious leaders show up again, bothered that Jesus' disciples aren’t fasting. They want to control the narrative. They want to police the spiritual experience.

They want Jesus to fit in their box.

Jesus answers with one of the most liberating truths in Scripture:

“No one pours new wine into old wineskins.”

Translation:

“You don’t get to shrink the Kingdom of God down to your expectations.”

If the Pharisees represent anything today, it’s the voices that tell you:

“You’re not holy enough.” “You’re not disciplined enough.” “You don’t look religious.” “You’re not doing it right.”

And Jesus says, “I’m not here to maintain old systems. I’m here to make all things new.”

There’s freedom in that. Freedom from religious pressure. Freedom from spiritual comparison. Freedom from trying to earn what God already gave as a gift.

Matthew 9 is Jesus telling you: “You don’t have to fit the mold. Just follow Me.”

---

THE BLEEDING WOMAN — FOR EVERY PERSON HIDING A QUIET, LONELY PAIN

Then comes one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the entire Gospel.

A woman who has been bleeding for 12 years—twelve years of isolation, shame, exhaustion, and being labeled “unclean”—pushes through the crowd.

She doesn’t even try to get His attention. She doesn’t call His name. She simply says in her heart:

“If I can just touch His garment…”

Most people don’t understand what it’s like to carry a hidden battle. A private suffering. A wound that drains you silently—emotionally, spiritually, mentally, financially.

But Jesus sees what no one else sees.

The moment she touches Him, Jesus stops everything—even though He’s in the middle of rushing to help someone else.

He turns her direction.

He acknowledges her existence.

He honors her courage.

He speaks directly into the place where her fear and faith were wrestling:

“Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.”

He doesn’t call her “woman.” He calls her “daughter.”

The title she had never heard in twelve years. The identity her suffering had stolen. The relationship she thought was impossible.

This is what Jesus does: He restores what pain tried to erase.

The healing wasn’t just physical. It was personal. It was relational. It was emotional.

God does not simply fix wounds— He restores identity.

---

THE DEAD GIRL — FOR EVERY PERSON WHO THINKS IT’S TOO LATE

While Jesus is still talking to the woman, word arrives: a young girl has died.

The mourners have already begun. The world has already declared the final verdict. The story seems closed.

But Jesus walks into the house and makes a declaration so bold it sounds offensive:

“The girl is not dead but asleep.”

Everyone laughs at Him.

Not because they’re cruel— but because the situation looked too final to imagine any other outcome.

Isn’t that what we do? When a relationship seems ruined… When a dream collapses… When hope feels gone… When life takes a turn so sharp you can’t breathe through it…

We assume finality. We assume God is late. We assume the story is over.

But Jesus does not speak from the view of circumstance. He speaks from the view of sovereignty.

He takes her by the hand— the hand of someone who was beyond human help— and she rises.

Here is the message: What looks dead to people is often only sleeping in God’s hands.

You may think it’s too late. But Jesus still walks into rooms where hope has flatlined… and breathes life again.

---

THE TWO BLIND MEN — FOR EVERY PERSON PRAYING BUT NOT SEEING RESULTS YET

Then come two men who are blind. They cry out: “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

But Jesus doesn’t heal them immediately. He takes them indoors—away from the crowd— and asks them a question that echoes through your own faith:

“Do you believe I am able to do this?”

Not “Do you believe I will?” Not “Do you believe you deserve it?” Not “Do you believe you’ve earned it?”

But simply: “Do you believe I am able?”

There are seasons when you pray… and nothing changes. You ask… and Heaven feels silent. You keep walking… and the darkness doesn’t lift.

But Jesus is forming a deeper question inside you: “Do you believe I am able even before you see it?”

Their answer was simple: “Yes, Lord.”

And their eyes were opened.

This is the pattern of Matthew 9: Not power for power’s sake… but restoration for trust’s sake.

Jesus wants relationship, not transactions.

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THE MUTE DEMON-POSSESSED MAN — FOR EVERY PERSON WHO LOST THEIR VOICE

Finally, a man who cannot speak is brought to Jesus.

This is symbolic for so many people today: trauma stole their voice shame silenced them fear muted them grief shut them down life broke something inside them that used to speak freely

Jesus casts out the demon, and the man speaks again.

He doesn’t just regain a voice— he regains identity, agency, dignity.

When God heals you, He doesn’t just remove the darkness. He restores the voice the darkness tried to take.

---

THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL — FOR EVERY BELIEVER WHO FEELS OVERWHELMED

The chapter ends with something beautiful. Jesus looks at the crowds—not with frustration, not with judgment, not with disappointment. The Scripture says:

“He had compassion on them.”

Why? Because they were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Jesus sees the brokenness of the world clearer than we do. He sees the confusion, the exhaustion, the spiritual hunger.

And His response is not discouragement— it is calling.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers.”

In other words: “There is so much healing to do. So many hearts to restore. So many people who need hope. And I want you to be part of it.”

Not because you're perfect. Not because you're strong. Not because you're impressive.

But because healed people become healers. Restored people become restorers. Redeemed people become ambassadors of redemption.

Matthew 9 is the story of Jesus walking into every form of human suffering… and bringing transformation every single time.

You are living inside that same story today.

If you sit with Matthew 9 long enough, you begin to notice a pattern woven through every miracle, every conversation, every interruption:

Jesus moves toward the wounded. Jesus moves toward the forgotten. Jesus moves toward the impossible. Jesus moves toward the overlooked. Jesus moves toward the ones who think they don’t deserve Him.

And the more you read, the clearer it becomes:

Jesus is always moving toward you.

Not because you got it all together. Not because you pray perfectly. Not because your faith never shakes. Not because you’ve mastered spiritual discipline.

But because He knows the truth that you often forget:

You are the very reason He came.

Matthew 9 is not a chapter about people who had strong faith. It is a chapter about people who had strong need.

And Jesus never ran from need—He ran toward it.

Let’s bring this into real life. Into your life. Into the places you wish God would hurry up and fix.

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WHEN YOU FEEL PARALYZED BY LIFE

Maybe you’re like the paralyzed man— alive but not moving, breathing but not progressing, surviving but not thriving.

Maybe something in your life feels stuck: a mindset a habit a relationship a fear a disappointment a wound you’ve never told anybody about

Matthew 9 whispers this:

Bring your paralyzed places to Jesus. He still says “Get up.”

Healing isn’t always loud. Sometimes it begins with the smallest shift inside your spirit— a spark of hope, a breath of courage, a willingness to believe that the future does not have to look like the past.

You are not as stuck as you feel. Jesus is already standing over the places that paralyzed you, and one word from Him can restore what years tried to destroy.

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WHEN YOU FEEL DISQUALIFIED

If you’ve ever felt unworthy of God’s attention… If you’ve ever thought your past disqualifies you… If you’ve ever wondered why God would choose you when others seem more “spiritual”…

Stand next to Matthew the tax collector.

The religious world wrote him off.

Jesus wrote him into history.

That’s what grace does— it rewrites stories people gave up on.

Jesus is not intimidated by your past. He’s not shocked by your mistakes. He’s not analyzing your résumé before deciding if He wants you.

He looks at you the same way He looked at Matthew:

“Follow Me.”

Not a command. An invitation.

And everything changes the moment you say yes.

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WHEN YOU’RE EXHAUSTED BY RELIGIOUS EXPECTATIONS

There’s a reason Jesus said you can’t put new wine into old wineskins.

He wasn’t talking about wine. He was talking about life.

The Pharisees followed God with rules. Jesus calls you to follow God with relationship.

Religion says: “Earn it.” Jesus says: “Receive it.”

Religion says: “Behave right, then you belong.” Jesus says: “You belong—and that belonging will change you.”

Matthew 9 releases you from the prison of perfectionism. It frees you from spiritual anxiety. It reminds you that God’s presence is not a test to pass—it’s a gift to embrace.

You don’t have to achieve your way into God’s love. You only have to accept the invitation.

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WHEN YOU’RE HIDING PAIN NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT

The bleeding woman teaches us something tender and fierce:

You can bring Jesus the wound you don’t bring anyone else.

She didn’t walk up boldly. She didn’t make a speech. She didn’t approach Him with confidence.

She crawled. She whispered. She hoped.

And that was enough for Jesus to turn around.

Maybe you’ve been carrying a private heartbreak— the kind that sits under your smile, the kind no one asks about because you hide it well, the kind you’ve learned to live with even though it drains you daily.

Hear this:

Jesus turns toward quiet pain.

Even if you can only reach for the hem of His garment. Even if your prayer is barely a whisper. Even if you can’t explain the depth of your hurt.

He sees your reach. He hears your hope. He honors your courage.

And like the woman in Matthew 9, you will rise again—not just healed, but restored.

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WHEN IT FEELS TOO LATE

Some situations in life look like that little girl’s room: cold silent final

People assume it’s over. Your own mind tells you it’s finished. Your emotions start grieving what you think you’ll never get back.

But Jesus speaks a radical truth into funerals of hope:

“She is not dead but asleep.”

Translation:

“This looks final to you, but not to Me.”

There are dreams, callings, relationships, passions, and parts of your heart that you thought were dead.

Jesus calls them “asleep.”

In His hands, anything can rise again. Anything can be restored. Anything can be breathed back into life.

You serve a God who is not intimidated by impossibility. You serve a Savior who steps into graves and calls people forward. You serve a King whose timing is perfect even when it feels late.

Do not give up on what God has not declared finished.

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WHEN YOU’RE NOT SEEING ANSWERS YET

The two blind men cry out for mercy. Jesus waits. He doesn’t answer immediately. He brings them indoors, where faith is not shaped by visibility, applause, or emotion.

He asks: “Do you believe I am able to do this?”

That question is the furnace where real faith is forged.

Maybe you’ve been praying for something— direction healing breakthrough clarity strength provision peace— and it feels like nothing is happening.

But something is happening. God is forming your faith in the unseen.

Faith is not believing God will do it. Faith is believing God can—before you ever see the evidence.

And when Jesus touches your life in His timing, the scales will fall from your eyes and you’ll understand something profound:

Delay was never denial. Delay was preparation.

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WHEN LIFE HAS STOLEN YOUR VOICE

The man who couldn’t speak represents anyone who has been silenced— by trauma, by shame, by heartbreak, by discouragement, by the opinions of people, by seasons that crushed your spirit.

Jesus restores voices.

He restores confidence. He restores dignity. He restores the ability to speak truth, hope, and purpose into the world again.

If life has muted you, hear this with your heart:

Jesus is restoring your voice. Not just so you can speak— but so you can testify.

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WHEN THE WORLD LOOKS BROKEN

Matthew 9 ends with Jesus looking at crowds of hurting people.

Not criticizing. Not rolling His eyes. Not frustrated by their weakness.

The Scripture says He was moved with compassion.

Then He said something astonishing:

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”

Meaning:

“There is so much healing to be done—and I want you in the middle of it.”

You are not just someone Jesus heals. You are someone Jesus sends.

Not because you’re strong. But because you know what it’s like to need Him.

The world doesn’t need perfect Christians. It needs healed ones. Restored ones. Compassionate ones. Christ-centered ones. People who have met Jesus in the middle of their own pain and now carry His hope to others.

That’s the real end of Matthew 9.

Not just transformation— but multiplication.

Jesus heals you so you can become part of His healing movement in the world.

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CONCLUSION — WHAT MATTHEW 9 MEANS FOR YOU TODAY

If Matthew 9 could speak directly to your life, it would say this:

You are not too stuck for Jesus. You are not too broken for Jesus. You are not too late for Jesus. You are not too quiet for Jesus. You are not too complicated for Jesus. You are not too far for Jesus.

Your story is not over. Your hope is not dead. Your faith is not empty. Your future is not ruined. Your calling is not canceled.

Every place of hurt— He can heal.

Every place of shame— He can restore.

Every place of impossibility— He can resurrect.

Every place where you feel small— He can speak identity.

Matthew 9 is not just a chapter you read. It is a chapter you live. A chapter that breathes inside you when everything feels impossible and God feels far away.

Jesus is not done moving in your life.

Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever.

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#Jesus #Faith #BibleStudy #ChristianLiving #Hope #Inspiration #Motivation #Matthew9 #Healing #Miracles

I’m right now walking Hash, And I just have this Vague feeling about how I’m unhappy with my current life state. But I really want to remind myself that there aren’t necessarily big reasons to feel this way other than just the fact that this is what I’m used to in my comfortable state in my mind. But I also do have a lot of choice on perspective, if I choose to focus on the things where I feel good about my life then I will feel that way.

19 November 2025

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Air purple to skin dart down spinal central boots rushing flat gum sole our own pockets of water on a strawberry hill

JOURNAL 5 décembre 2025

Je retourne dans ma tête mes entretiens de hier avec les psys. C’est vrai que je n’ai pas envie d'aller trouver l'explication. C’est vrai que je la connais, mais pour le moment je ne veux pas savoir. Je ne veux pas me dire ok c'est ça, parce que automatiquement je serais amenée à poser la question genre « est ce que je suis ce que je crois que je suis » et je ne veux pas poser cette question précisément, j'ai peur que la réponse soit négative. A me regarde et je crois qu’elle aussi est un peu inquiète de la réponse. Parce que si c’est négatif, alors je devrai remettre toute ma vie en question. ET ÇA ME FERAIT BIEN CHIER Je ne veux pas me poser de questions sur ma vie, c’est pour ça que j'ai peur de sauter. J’ai peut être tort, mais c’est existentiel, alors c’est un risque quand même.

Je sais bien que je le ferai et bientôt mais en attendant je vais me blottir dans les bras de A comme une petite fille un peu malade fermer mes yeux noirs de mer et plus penser à rien à rien du tout