God Selects People to Be Leaders for the Times In Which They Live

Encouragement for times when the road ahead looks dark and difficult.

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I still remember sitting in a small conference room at Northland Rescue Mission with three other staff members.

Staff and board members—each with more than twenty-five years of experience—were stepping down. And the 60-year-old ministry needed to be rebuilt from the ground up—mission, culture, strategy, and stability.

Those of us left were a small remnant staring into a future full of unknowns, tasked with recreating something that had served generations before us.

I wondered, “How can I, with so little experience, rebuild a sixty-year-old ministry? Why me?”

Only later did I understand:

I didn’t choose that moment.
It was selected for me by God.

Your situation may look different—your board, your donors, your staff, your culture—but the feeling may be the same as you face “a good ministry in need of rebuilding.”

Tolkien’s Hard-won Wisdom for Leaders in Dark Times

J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic Lord of the Rings trilogy tells the tale of inexperienced, unlikely characters facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles and enemies.

At a particularly disheartening, ominous point in the story, Frodo—a Hobbit chosen to fight great evil—confesses to Gandalf that he wishes none of the darkness around him had happened. In response, Gandalf says:

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time given to us.”

This poignant line did not come from an author unfamiliar with suffering.

Tolkien lived through the horror of World War I, having fought in The Battle of the Somme—one of the deadliest battles in human history.

Historical records show:

• Tolkien served as a second lieutenant in the British Army.
• He witnessed massive casualties, with more than one million men killed or wounded at the Somme.
• Nearly all his closest friends from the “Tea Club, Barrovian Society” died in the war.
• He battled trench fever, mud, rats, artillery bombardments, and the psychological toll of constant death.

Years later, Tolkien said that the landscapes of Mordor were inspired directly by what he had seen on the battlefield: blasted trees, blackened earth, and suffering as far as the eye could see.

Tolkien created an entire world filled with good and evil and cataclysmic circumstances—not unlike the battles, evil, and loss he experienced. He saw not only friends and family taken, but an entire generation lost or deeply impacted by the vast sea of warfare and death.

Tolkien’s famous quote is more than poetry. His words are autobiographical. After living through the worst of times, he decided what to do with the time given him: he created a world that has inspired millions of people across the world; one marked by the perseverance, determination, and hope of a small band of unlikely heroes.

God Places Every Leader in Their Generation on Purpose

Tolkien’s masterpiece helps us see ourselves in a story bigger than we imagine, and that our impact can be significant even when we feel small. Or weary. Or afraid.

We don’t choose the times we live in. But we can choose how we act in the times in which we live.

Ephesians gives us the blueprint for how to live in this challenging age:

“Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” —Ephesians 5:16

God is calling us to redeem our days—to steward them wisely and without panic.

And then Paul adds:

“For we are God’s workmanship… created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” —Ephesians 2:10

For Such a Time As This

God not only appointed your time—He prepared your work within it.

You don’t have to:

• Anticipate every change
• Master every new tool
• Understand every political shift, or
• Carry the whole mission on your shoulders

You need to walk in obedience—one faithful step at a time.

When Leadership Feels Impossible, God Forms the Leader

Back at the Northland Rescue Mission, our situation felt impossible. We had aging buildings, fractured history, unclear identity, and a community that wasn’t sure whether the mission still represented the Gospel.

Our small team had to rebuild trust, rebuild culture, rebuild the mission itself.

God had placed us there. And as we yielded to Him—praying, seeking wisdom, working with obedience—He breathed new life into that ministry.

• He restored its Gospel-centered foundation.
• He changed lives.
• He created momentum we could never have engineered ourselves.

What felt like the hardest season turned out to be the most formative.

I didn’t choose that moment.
But God chose me for it. And He prepared the work in advance.

Why Today’s Leaders Feel Overwhelmed—and How God Meets Them There

Today’s nonprofit and ministry leaders carry pressures Tolkien would have understood:

• Global conflict
• Cultural upheaval
• Unpredictable economics
• Social fragmentation
• Political division
• The fatigue of constant information
• Technology shifting faster than any leader can keep up with

It often feels like we can’t learn fast enough to lead well enough.

But Proverbs 3:5–6 reminds us:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart… and He will make your path straight.”

Your job is obedience.
His job is clarity.

Your job is humility.
His job is directing.

Your job is to take the next faithful step.
His job is to open the way.

God takes our reluctance, our frailty, our exhaustion—and turns them into testimony, courage, and impact.

A Pastoral Word of Strength for Weary Leaders

Let me speak to your heart:

• Be strong—not because you feel strong, but because the Spirit strengthens you.
• Be steady—not because the world is steady, but because Christ is unshakable.
• Be unapologetic—your ministry is needed, your calling matters, and your presence in this moment is intentional.

You are here for such a time as this.

If You Need Help Navigating This Moment

Many leaders feel overwhelmed by mission drift, donor trends, technology, staffing challenges, burnout, and strategic confusion.

That’s why Bold Leading exists. We help Christian ministries:

• Rediscover clarity
• Refocus on Christ
• Build sustainable strategy
• Regain momentum
• Navigate complexity with confidence
• Resist mission drift, and
• Steward their calling with excellence

If you need someone to help plot the course, we’re here—and we would be honored to walk alongside you.

Final Word

Leader, God has chosen you for this moment, and He is enough.

Tolkien saw death, loss, and unimaginable suffering in World War I. And yet he wrote stories saturated with hope, courage, fellowship, and purpose.

He understood—deeply—that darkness does not have the last word.

Scripture goes even further:

• God places us in our moment.
• God prepares our work.
• God lights our path.
• God redeems our days.
• God is faithful in every generation.

Walk forward in courage. Trust Him for the next step. And know this:

You are chosen for this moment—and God is enough.