My Precious
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.”
As we learn to trust God to guide our path, we may come to a time when He asks us to let go of something to lighten our load and equip us for the journey ahead. It could be a habit, a desire, a relationship, or even a career. It may not even be something “bad” — at least from our perspective — so it may be hard to leave it behind. It may be something precious to us. What will we do if He asks us to lay it down? Will we trust Him and obey, or will we cling to it with all our might?
As I considered this topic, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the “one ring” from The Lord of the Rings. In case you are not familiar with this trilogy (based on the books by J. R. R. Tolkien), here is a some background on the ring, taken from the prologue of the first movie:
“It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf-Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. Deep in the land of Mordor, in the Fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged a master ring, and into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. . . . It came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there it consumed him. The ring gave to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years it poisoned his mind, and in the gloom of Gollum’s cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived its time had come. It abandoned Gollum, but then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable: a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
Bilbo Baggins knew nothing of the ring’s history, only that it gave him the power to become invisible when wearing it. It also gave him long life and became precious to him, although he did not really understand why. After much insistence by the good wizard Gandalf (as we’ll see in the video at the end of this post), Bilbo reluctantly agreed to leave the ring behind and move on with his life. In this clip, Gandalph discovers that Bilbo’s ring is actually the Ring of Power forged by the Dark Lord Sauron long ago. . .
“What can you not live without? What would utterly devastate you if you lost it? Is it a relationship, possession, or a certain situation in your life? Is it more important to you than God? You need to consider how tight a hold it actually has on you because it could become counter-productive and even dangerous.”
Charles F. Stanley
Sometimes, something we think is harmless turns out to be dangerous. Gandalf wisely advised his dear friend to let go of the ring for his own good. He knew if Bilbo held on to the ring, it could take hold of him and lead him down a sinister path. The same is true of our all-wise and all-loving God. He absolutely knows what is best for us, so if He asks us to let go of something, we must trust that it’s for our own good. Refusing to do so may lead us down a dark road. If there is anything that is more precious to us than God, we are in serious trouble.
It turns out that the “creature” Gollum who possessed the ring before Bilbo was once a hobbit, too. Only he wasn’t so lucky. He didn’t have someone who cared enough to convince him to let go of the ring. Instead, it eventually drove him insane. It became everything to him, and he lived his unnaturally long life in wretched devotion to it and its evil desires. When he lost it, he became obsessed with finding it again. It was his “precious” and he couldn’t live without it. This was the fate that awaited Bilbo had he not given up the ring:
“Those who know your name trust in you,
Psalm 9:10 NIV
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
We can’t see the future, but God can. We have to trust and obey Him no matter what. If He asks us to give something up, He has a reason for it. Letting go of something precious to us can be hard, really hard, and maybe even a little scary. But God loves us and He will never forsake us or let us down. We can believe that. We must depend on Him for everything, and we must do so completely. When we do, He will lead us into beautiful blessings we can’t even imagine.
“You neither honor God nor help yourself by having a divided heart. Therefore, make a decision about what will rule your life once and for all. Surrender whatever is coming between you and the Lord. The good news is that, no matter what God requires you to give up, you can be certain that your life is going to be much better without it in the long run. God is not punishing you by taking this precious thing from you — He is preparing to give you something even better.”
Charles F. Stanley
This week’s Scripture passages remind us that we must always put God first. Of all that has been or will be, He is the most precious. There is a printer-friendly pdf version below the image. I have also included a video clip from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. In this scene, Gandalf convinces Bilbo to leave the ring behind. Gandalf assures Bilbo, “I am trying to help you. . . . Trust me. . . . Let it go.” When God asks the same of us, let’s rush into His loving arms and let Him lead us into the good life He has planned for us. No matter what hardships we face along the way, we can trust that His road ultimately leads to our happily ever after with Him.
“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!”
Psalm 36:7 ESV
References:
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Dir. Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema, 2001.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Dir. Peter Jackson. New Line Cinema, 2002.
- “LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring – Farewell Dear Bilbo.” YouTube, uploaded by EgalmothOfGondolin01, 15 December 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yy0pPTrHlk.
- “My PRECIOUS!!!!” YouTube, uploaded by wirtzenator, 12 March 2010, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz-8CSa9xj8.
- “One Ring to Rule Them All.” YouTube, uploaded by Mo So, 29 March 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3DcTRddQmk.
- Stanley, Charles F. 30 Life Principles Study Guide: A Study for Growing in Knowledge and Understanding of God. Thomas Nelson, 2008.
Images:
About The Author
Christa
My vision for Wondertakings was to create a devotional blog for "nerdy" Christians like me. I do believe, as Socrates said, that wisdom begins in wonder. So I love to read or watch anything that inspires wonder and figure out what I can learn from it. I view it all through a Christian lens. I believe that God can and does speak through many sources in many ways, even if those speaking are not aware of it. I am not an expert in theology or religious studies. My goal with this blog is simply to share what I've learned as a fellow student and sinner in the Christian walk. My hope and my prayer is that by doing so I may be able to help someone else. In Deuteronomy 5:33 (NLT), we are told: "Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives. . . ." So in the words of Moses (and Spock), live long and prosper, my friends!