The Long Road Through Moria

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, there is a moment in the Mines of Moria when the Fellowship sits in total darkness, unsure which of three passages to take. They are exhausted, grieving, and lost beneath a mountain. Gandalf simply sits down and smokes his pipe, waiting for clarity to come. Hours pass in silence. Finally, he stands and says, "I have decided." He chooses the passage that smells less foul, and they press on.

What strikes me about that scene is not the dramatic battle that follows, but the quiet waiting in the dark. Gandalf does not panic. He does not turn back. He sits with uncertainty until the way forward becomes clear, and then he walks it.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Galatians, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Perseverance is not always a sprint through fire. Sometimes it is sitting in the dark, trusting that the God Who Sees — El Roi — has not abandoned you in the middle of the mountain.

Some of you are in Moria right now. The way behind is closed and the way forward is unclear. But the Almighty has not brought you this far to leave you in the dark. Sit with Him. Wait for His leading. And when the time comes, walk the next passage He reveals.