The Last Step You Can See

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, there comes a moment near the end of the long journey to Mount Doom when Frodo can go no further. He has carried the Ring across Middle-earth, through marshes and wastelands, past enemies seen and unseen. Now, on the ashen slopes of the mountain, his strength is simply gone. He collapses. And his companion Samwise Gamgee, exhausted and starving himself, says one of the most quietly heroic lines in all of literature: "I can't carry it for you, but I can carry you."

Sam lifts Frodo onto his back and climbs.

He doesn't know if they'll succeed. He doesn't know if there's a way home. He only knows the next step, and he takes it.

This is what perseverance looks like in the life of faith. It is rarely dramatic. It is rarely accompanied by trumpets. Most often, it looks like someone putting one foot in front of the other when every voice — inside and out — is saying to stop. The writer of Hebrews understood this: "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus" (Hebrews 12:1-2).

You may not be able to see the summit. You may not feel strong enough for the whole journey. But the God who called you faithful does not ask you to see the end. He asks you to take the next step. And sometimes, He sends a Sam to help you climb.