The Slowest Decision in Middle-earth

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers, the hobbits Merry and Pippin find themselves among the Ents — ancient, tree-like creatures who serve as guardians of the forest. When the hobbits beg for help against the forces of evil, Treebeard, the eldest Ent, responds with his famous counsel: "Don't be hasty."

The Entmoot — their council — takes three full days. Three days of slow, deliberate speech while war rages and darkness spreads. To the hobbits, it feels agonizing. The world is burning, and these ancient beings are still talking.

But when the Ents finally decide to act, they march on Isengard with a force that nothing can withstand. They tear down walls, redirect rivers, and dismantle an entire fortress of evil in a single night. Their patience was never passivity — it was power gathering itself.

We live in a world that mistakes speed for strength. We want God to answer our prayers on our timeline, to act when we think He should act. But the Almighty operates on a different clock. As the apostle Peter reminds us, "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."

The God who spoke the universe into existence is never late. When He moves, mountains tremble. Your season of waiting is not wasted — it is the Entmoot before the march.