Facing Challenges Lord of the Rings style

The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but the darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly drew itself up to a great height, and its wings were spread from wall to wall; but still Gandalf could be seen, glimmering in the gloom; he seemed small, and altogether alone: grey and bent like a wizened tree before the onset of a storm.

I don't know what's more amazing the fact that amidst all that Gandalf didn't run away, or that that whole paragraph is only three sentences long.
What I really like about this is the imagery. You can really see it can't you? This huge, great creature with giant wings, and then this little, old, wizened man. Wizened by the way is just something that's old and shriveled, kind of means what it sounds like.
As I said before Gandalf didn't run away. When there was adversity he took it full on, he meet the challenge no matter how great it seemed. We need to be like Gandalf. We need to accept challenges even if when we face them we look like wizened trees before the onset of a storm.
However, unlike Gandalf, we don't have to face our problems alone. When we are faced with the darkness we have the greatest light within us. With that power we are able to conquer even the deadliest and darkest of foes.
Now there is another problem we come across when facing challenges, like the ones the entire Fellowship of Ring faced in Lothlorien.

All of them it seemed fared alike: each had felt that he was offered a choice between a shadow full of fear that lay ahead, and something that he greatly desired: clear before his mind it lay, and to get it he had only to turn aside from the road and leave the Quest and the war against Sauron to the others.


This one's only one sentence, however long or short it is, it does contain a powerful message and The Choice.
Everyone makes The Choice sooner or later in life. The Choice is simple, follow your own heart and desire and do what you want to do and forget about everyone else, or to go where you don't want to go, against your desires to fight the enemy.
Some of you might know this, others may not, but I will tell you regardless, and that is, you are in war. Not a battle. Not a fight. But and all out war, and it's right here. It's right where you are. It's all around you, everywhere. You cannot escape it. However, you can refuse to fight.
The war is for souls. The soldiers are you, God, Satan, angels and demons. Like I said you can't escape it, and you can't play ignorant, (especially because I just told you it's there) but you can not fight. You can sit in your little corner of the world, enjoying your own pleasures and comforts while the people around you are hurting and dying.
As I said you can follow self or you can follow God. You can do what you want, or what God want you to do. You can sit there, or you can fight. You can grab a hold of what you desire and leave the war to the "others", or you can stand up and make the darkness tremble, even though it's terrifying and you're small. You can give in to the easy path of living for yourself, or face the challenge, go against yourself and fight, even though it's harder. It's The Choice.
Choosing to fight is not going to be easy. There will be times where you'll think "What am I doing?" and you'll want to go back, just like Frodo and the fellowship did. But if you keep going on, keep fighting like Gandalf in the toughest of situations, then you will have defeated one of the most challenging things of all. Better yet, you'll receive a reward for it.
So face up to the challenge like a Gandalf and don't give up in the darkest of circumstances. Also, stand up to the challenge in leaving your selfishness and fight against the darkness that surrounds this world.

A bunch of insights from Lord of the Rings

But I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well— desperate. The enemy is so strong and terrible.

It's easy to feel like Frodo isn't it? So many times we may feel small, uprooted and desperate. In case you're wondering—because I was— uprooted in this sense means "to be displaced from home or country, torn away from customs or way of life," basically involuntarily thrown out of your comfort zone. I know at times I feel like this. There are so many hurting, lost, confused people out there, I don't know where to start. I think "the enemy is so big, no matter how much I help it won't matter." But that's just what he wants you to think because there is something you can do. Each time you impact someone, that someone turns around and impacts more and before you know it thousands have changed just from your seeming less insignificant part. We also don't have to feel this way because God is always with us to help us with our doubts and it's his power that can help us defeat the enemy.

Ephesians 3:20 says
Now to him who able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.

You know what that means??? WE are God's greatest tool to reach the world. Of all the powerful things God could use to change the world, he chose us. US. Imperfect, sinful humans to reach the world. And if we let God use that power through us, amazing things will happen, immeasurably more than we can ever think. All through us.

This task was appointed to you, if you do not find a way no one will.

Galadriel told this to Frodo, and God kinda tells us the something. God chose YOU for a specific task. No one else can fit the task God has assigned you to do. No one else has the talents or abilities you do to complete your task, it's you and only you. You can't hand it over to someone or ask God to reassign you. It's yours you're stuck with it. So if you don't do what God asks of you (and it's impossible to stray from God's plan) no one else can or will do it, because it's your plan. So you'd better get going find it and do it. It's up to you to do what God has assigned you.