The Stories That Really Mattered

In J.R.R. Tolkien's The Two Towers, there is a moment when Frodo and Sam sit exhausted on the stairs of Cirith Ungol, the weight of their impossible mission pressing down on them. Frodo is ready to quit. The Ring grows heavier with every step, and Mordor looms ahead like a death sentence.

It is Sam — loyal, ordinary Sam — who speaks the words that change everything. He talks about the great stories, the ones that really mattered. The heroes in those tales had plenty of chances to turn back, he says, but they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. There is some good in this world, Sam insists, and it's worth fighting for.

What strikes me about this scene is that Sam doesn't pretend the darkness isn't real. He doesn't minimize the danger. He simply insists that the darkness is not the whole story.

That is biblical courage. Scripture never promises us a life without fear. What God promises is that He walks with us through it. "Be strong and courageous," the Lord told Joshua. "Do not be afraid... for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).

Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the stubborn conviction that there is something good — Someone good — worth pressing forward for. Even when the road is long and the outcome uncertain, we keep going. Because the story isn't over yet.