Sympathizing with Frodo

Wishful thinking has its allure.  Something inside of us is discontent with the way things are.  “I wish we could go back to last summer, or fast-forward to next summer, anything but this Covid mess.”  Masks, distancing, health risks, volatile markets, job insecurity, loneliness…

And yet, wishful thinking is sharply at odds with faith in Jesus.  Not that we shouldn’t have any wishes or hopes—of course we should.  But they mustn’t take center stage.  Trust in Christ means continually, happily yielding the limelight to him.  Spiritual maturity involves finding peace offering up our wishes to him, knowing that God is at work for our good, even now—yes, right now (Romans 8:28).

What are you wishing for?  Longing for?  Dreaming of?  Is it to know more and more of the joy of the Lord?  Is your passion like John the Baptist’s, “He must increase but I must decrease”?  What drives the vision for your life?  Is it your own comfort and material security?

The Apostle Paul puts things in perspective when he tells how much he treasures Jesus Christ, and how trivial in comparison is the value of all his knowledge and religious piety and past moral attainment.  “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8).  Even though Paul faced a plethora of afflictions (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), to be in Christ, to be loved forever by Jesus—this was his grand delight!

So when discontentment comes knocking, don’t answer the door.  Listen to Gandalf, not Frodo.  In The Fellowship of the Ring, as Gandalf tells of the spreading dark cloud of Mordor, Frodo laments, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.”  Gandalf replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times.  But that is not for them to decide.  All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us.”

God has you living here and now for his good reasons—trust him.  And join me in looking for ways to be faithful today, spread­ing gospel truth and redeeming love.  This is just the right time to be alive—God made you for these days.  So be at peace, embrace the moment, and be on the lookout for ways that God will turn the trials for great good—in his way and in his time (Genesis 50:20-21).