I was rewatching The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring for the first time in many years, recently. In the movie, there is an exchange between Frodo, and Gandalf. Frodo, feeling afraid, uncertain, not capable, says to Gandalf:
I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf’s response is this:
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. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.
How often do we find ourselves in a situation and feel like Frodo does here. I have. “I wish that the circumstances that led to me being in this situation had never happened.” But Gandalf’s response certainly speaks truth, the reality of life on earth governed by a soverign God. There are circumstances and events that we can’t control that put us in situations we otherwise wouldn’t have chosen. And those situations aren’t always orchestrated by evil. God puts us in places that will challenge us, not because He needs to see what we’re capable of (He already knows!), but because when we rise to the challenge and persevere, we show ourselves what we truly are capable of, and what we were created and destined to do. The fulfillment of that, is the Glory of God. It’s our choice what we do with the time God has given us, and with the circumstances we are in.