The Hobbit Who Wished It Away

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, there is a quiet moment deep in the Mines of Moria where Frodo Baggins turns to Gandalf and says, "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." It is the confession of someone overwhelmed by a calling he never asked for. Gandalf's reply has echoed through millions of hearts since: "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 that is given us."

Most of us have prayed some version of Frodo's prayer. We look at the weight we carry — the difficult marriage, the struggling child, the ministry that seems too large for our small hands — and we whisper, "Lord, I wish this had never come to me." We did not choose the burden. We would not have written this story for ourselves.

But the Almighty does not ask us to choose our calling. He asks us to be faithful within it. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God's plans for us are plans for a hope and a future — even when those plans feel heavier than we can bear.

You may not have chosen your road. But the One who laid it before you knew exactly what He was doing. Your only task today is to take the next faithful step.