My wife and I are currently reading through J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” As we’ve journeyed alongside Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry, an epiphany has been lingering in the back of my head: I’m just like a Hobbit. I resist change and hope desperately that things in my life will stay the way they are, just like the funny little characters in Tolkien’s books.

The last two years of my life would have been difficult for a Hobbit. Countless changes have marched into my life—good changes, but changes nonetheless. I started a new job. I got married. I moved. I got another new job. I moved again.

And these rather pleasant changes pale in comparison to some of the more serious changes facing my friends and family: What will he do without a dependable income? I wonder. How will she make friends in this new place? What will his life look like with a long-term illness? What will her future be like without him by her side?

Through good changes and bad, the root of my grumpiness and depression is not typically the intimidating prospect of a new thing, but the painful loss of an old thing. Health. Friends. Comfort. Provisions. Home. The need to let go of these treasures haunts me in every new season of life. It’s inevitable…predictable even. But why is it so hard?

The Bible provides comfort and clarity when the things we love feel like they’re slipping through our fingers. Inevitably, God will call us to let go of the past and follow his lead into new seasons of life—and that’s not an easy task.

Reflect on these five Bible verses as you let go and face the future.

1. Combat worries with thankfulness.
   Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.– Philippians 4:16 (GNTD)
2. Entrust your future to God.
   I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for.– Jeremiah 29:11 (GNTD)
3. Focus on what lies ahead.
   One thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.– Philippians 3:13b (GNTD)
4. Look to the Lord for new mercies.
   Watch for the new thing I am going to do. It is happening already—you can see it now! I will make a road through the wilderness and give you streams of water there.– Isaiah 43:19 (GNTD)
5. Treasure the one who never changes.
   Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.– Hebrews 13:8 (GNTD)