The Time That Is Given to Us

I was rewatching The Lord of the Rings recently when a familiar scene hit me with fresh power. Frodo, burdened with the weight of the Ring and the darkness pressing in around him, laments:

“I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”

Gandalf’s response is tender but firm:

“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.”

It’s a line written decades ago, but it resonates deeply with our present moment. We too live in difficult times—uncertainty, injustice, violence, and division seem to press in on all sides. Many of us have whispered Frodo’s words in our own hearts. “I wish none of this had happened.” We long for a world where life feels lighter, where faith feels easier, where peace feels near.

But Gandalf’s wisdom—and Tolkien’s Christian imagination—pushes us toward a deeper truth: We don't get to choose our moment in history. But we do get to choose how we live in it.

That’s not just fantasy wisdom—it’s biblical. In Acts 17:26, Paul says that God “determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” We are not here by accident. The timing of our lives is not random. God, in His providence, entrusted this moment to us.

And as followers of Jesus, we believe something even more radical: we have been called to this moment—not to escape it, but to bear witness within it. Like Esther in the palace, like Daniel in Babylon, like the early church under Roman rule—we are here for such a time as this (Esther 4:14).

It may be tempting to retreat, to grow cynical, or to wish the weight of our current troubles away. But the cross teaches us that God often does His greatest work in the most painful places. Resurrection power comes after death. Light breaks through the dark.

So what will we do with the time that is given to us?

We can lament, yes—but not without hope.We can resist evil—not with hate, but with holy courage.We can live generously, love boldly, and work for justice—not because we are strong, but because Christ is risen.We can pray, even when the world feels silent.We can plant seeds of peace, even if we don’t see the harvest.

Tolkien, a devout Christian, embedded this worldview into his storytelling. The small are chosen to do great things. Hope is a defiant act. The darkest night cannot cancel the coming dawn.

Let’s not waste the time that’s been entrusted to us. Let’s live it with faith, resolve, and the steady assurance that, even now, God is at work.

Because the Ring may feel heavy. But grace is greater.