Signora Sheila

The evil dragon had long posed an existential threat to the city. Even years after it went into hibernation, the threat remained. And then the day came when the beast reawakened. And once again the people of Lake-town found themselves in danger of destruction.

But in the midst of all the fear and despair, one brave man held out hope, Bard the Bowman. Determined to slay the dreaded beast, Bard climbed to the top of the city’s tall tower. Even though he knew that his arrows could never penetrate Dragon Smaug’s thick armor-like skin. Only a special black arrow could do that, and Bard didn’t have it.

Meanwhile Smaug hovered over the burning city breathing threats of death and destruction. And all seemed lost. Until Bard’s son Bain, appeared with the famous Black Arrow, bringing the only hope of victory!

So Bard calmly prepared his final attack, placing his son between himself and the dragon, but facing away from the hideous creature. Then he stabilized the heavy arrow by resting the point on the boy’s shoulder. It was an act that required great courage on both their parts, and the boy was visibly frightened.

“Is this your child?” Smaug taunted him. “You cannot save him from the fire. He will burn!” At that, the lad looked back in fear at the fire-breathing creature.

But his father continued to aim calmly and steadily, saying to his son, “Bain, look at me. Just look at me.”

This episode from Tolkien’s The Desolation of Smaug has a happy ending. Bard’s unerring aim and courage killed the dragon and saved Lake-town from total destruction.

Existential threats

We know a little bit about existential threats these days, don’t we? Depending on who you listen to, they’re all around us. From nuclear war to censorship, from pandemics to artificial intelligence.

We humans are prone to fear, anxiety, and worry. And it’s rare to find a person who hasn’t felt them to some degree, especially in recent years. Everything we know seems to be under threat. Democracy, climate, freedom, world peace, public safety, free speech, energy, even supply chains.

Dragons are on the loose, breathing threat and destruction. To stand strong we need courage and fortitude more than ever.

And like Bard, we may long to be brave, but find ourselves weaponless. With no way to fight, no safe towers, and nowhere to run from the destruction at our doorstep.

There in Lake-town’s tower, Bard and his son trembled with fear. Everything seemed so hopeless. Until they remembered that they had two strategic weapons.

We do not have a special black arrow like they did. But we do have strategic weapons.

Our weapons against threat and fear

1. Keep your eyes on Jesus

“Keep your eyes on me,” Bard told his son. Look at me. I see the enemy, I feel the fear. But I am your father and will protect you. Look at me.”

We too have a Father who says, “Look at me. I see all the threats and enemies, but I AM your Father, your protector, your strength. Keep your eyes on Me.”

It’s hard to stay focused in the midst of all the bad news, negativity, and alarm around us. It seems impossible to not to be afraid of our enemies.

But we must remember that our greatest existential danger lies in taking our eyes off the Lord. Doing so could destroy our peace, our joy, and even our faith. One of the most powerful weapons in our arsenal is to keep our eyes on Christ. “Look at Me,” He tells us. “Just look at Me.”

2. Use your special arrow

OK, so like me you probably don’t have any arrows, much less a special black one. And nothing in our arsenal seems to make much of a difference against all these threats anyway.

They sure didn’t stop the pandemic, did they? Nothing seemed to stop its spread. And none of our own inadequate weapons are likely to do much to stop any of the other current or future threats either.

But take heart. For even if we do not have special black arrows, we are well equipped! In Ephesians Paul tells us that God has given us a complete set of armor that can even help us quench the fiery darts of the enemy! All we need to do is take up the armor He has given us – and keep our eyes on Jesus. He will take care of the rest.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.

Ephesians 6:16

📷 Image credits: man; dragon; arrows