The Ring Bearer Who Wished It Away

In The Fellowship of the Ring, there is a quiet moment deep in the Mines of Moria where Frodo Baggins turns to Gandalf and whispers, "I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened." Every person in the congregation has prayed some version of that prayer. We have all looked at the weight we carry and wished it belonged to someone else.

But Gandalf does not offer pity. He offers perspective. "So do all who live to see such times," he says. "But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

Frodo did not choose his burden. He was a small, ordinary hobbit from a quiet village. He had no special training, no warrior's strength, no ancient wisdom. And yet the purpose found him — not because he was powerful, but because he was faithful.

The Almighty works the same way. He does not always call the equipped. He equips the called. Moses stuttered. Gideon hid in a winepress. David was the youngest son, overlooked by his own father. Purpose rarely arrives looking the way we expected.

You may feel too small for what God is asking. You may wish the ring had never come to you. But the question was never whether you chose it. The question is what you will do with the time you have been given.