Look to the East

In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the fortress of Helm's Deep is surrounded. Ten thousand Uruk-hai press against the walls, and the defenders — outnumbered, exhausted, many of them old men and boys — face what looks like certain death. Before the battle, Gandalf had spoken a single instruction to Aragorn: "Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. At dawn, look to the east."

Through the long night, the walls are breached, the gate shattered, and hope drains away with every passing hour. Yet Aragorn holds on — not because the odds have improved, but because he trusts the one who made the promise.

And then dawn breaks. The first rays of sunlight crest the ridge, and there stands Gandalf with two thousand riders charging down the hillside, exactly when he said he would come.

Patience in the Christian life often feels like Helm's Deep at midnight. The walls are crumbling. The enemy seems relentless. And God feels silent. But the Almighty has spoken. The prophet Habakkuk wrote, "For the revelation awaits an appointed time... Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay" (Habakkuk 2:3).

Your dawn is coming. The question is not whether God will keep His promise — He always does. The question is whether you will keep watching for first light.