So I was recently doing my daily web surfing and stumbled upon the wonderful, amazing, exciting news that they are making the movie The Hobbit. I know that many of you will be as excited as I am, and some of you won't have the good sense to care. Being of good taste and a cultured reader, my impatience forced me down to the Volusia County Public Library (Deltona branch) to get the book and read it.
While I haven't finished the book, it has so far been wonderful. I sat pondering (I won't say where) the main character, Mr. Bilbo Baggins. I dare say he is one of my favorite characters ever. "Why?" might you ask. He has no real super powers. He has no honed skills other than eating and napping, which also happens to be two of my favorite past. Also, not only does he have no skills to advance him in his adventures, but he is small and out of shape with over-sized hairy feet that I can only imagine make it difficult to run away from villians and minions and other evil pursuers.
But I am going somewhere with this thought.
Despite Mr. Baggins' short comings, the universe (for it surely had nothing to do with him) conspired to save him from goblins, worgs, both goblins and worgs working together, a cannibalistic hobbit, and the underground caves in which he found himself hopelessly lost. Now it seems the logical emotion would be thankfulness or some positive emotion that reflects your gratitude at not being eaten, starved to death, or meeting any of the horrible deaths that were very real possibilities. Yet, the only thing you see from him is his frustration at not being at his comfy little hobbit hole as well as disappointment at having the buttons on his shirt broken.
After noticing this, I couldn't help connecting the dots between us and him. While I may not be speaking for everyone, I think it is safe to say that most of us fail to realize what is really important and to be thankful for. Instead, we freak out about the problems we still have. We get so hung up on our circumstances and forget all the blessings we have.
So here is my goal, and hopefully yours, the next time we find our self freaking out over life's latest kick in the proverbial backside: let's remember what Jesus said in Matthew 6. "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Life has enough trouble without us driving ourselves and (very likely) others crazy over things we can't change. Just remember the promise we have from the God of the universe to take care of his people. Joel Osteen wrote a book about how we were created for victory. To a point he is right; we do have victory in Jesus. Like Bilbo and every other hero, fictional and real, you don't get remembered for winning every time, you get remembered for how you overcome the adversity and come out the other side. So as James said in James 1, "Count it all joy, my brothers,when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
Life has enough trouble without us driving ourselves and (very likely) others crazy over things we can't change. Just remember the promise we have from the God of the universe to take care of his people. Joel Osteen wrote a book about how we were created for victory. To a point he is right; we do have victory in Jesus. Like Bilbo and every other hero, fictional and real, you don't get remembered for winning every time, you get remembered for how you overcome the adversity and come out the other side. So as James said in James 1, "Count it all joy, my brothers,when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."
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