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Spoiler alert for the movie, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Yes, I have gathered another life lesson from a fantasy story. Also, this wasn’t in the book, but it’s good anyway.

The dragon, Smaug, is setting fire to an entire town. A bowman called Bard is trying to shoot down Smaug from a small tower. Bard’s arrows do not miss the dragon, but they are not strong enough to penetrate Smaug’s scales.

Bard’s son, Bain, sees his father, and runs through fiery ruins to retrieve an arrow that should be strong enough. He races to his father and shows him the arrow. Bard is ready to take the arrow and tells his son to find safety, but Smaug suddenly strikes the tower. Bard’s son is hanging off the edge of the unstable tower with the arrow. Bard rescues his son and takes the arrow.

Smaug turns to Bard and taunts him. Bard picks up his bow to shoot, but finds that it had been broken when Smaug struck the tower. Smaug notices the broken bow and proceeds to taunt more, giving remarks about how hopeless and helpless Bard is. Smaug then notices Bard’s son, and tells Bard that he cannot even save his own son.

So Bard lodges the broken ends of the bow into opposite sides of the tower, and draws back on the bowstring with both hands. His son, Bain, is facing his father with the arrow over his shoulder as his father takes aim.

Bain is afraid, but he has made up his mind to trust his father. Bard quietly tells Bain, “Stay still, son.” So Bain steadies himself. Smaug taunts once again, but Bard now notices an opening in Smaug’s scales into which he may shoot the arrow. After a final taunt, Smaug charges at the tower.

Bain looks over his shoulder in fear as Smaug roars. His father immediately and gently tells him, “Hey. Look at me. You look at me.”

So Bain looks at his father and moves exactly the way his father tells him to. Bard takes aim at Smaug, and lets the arrow fly!

The arrow whizzes past Bain’s head, and the fletching doesn’t scratch him. Bain keeps his eyes on his father even with the arrow going behind him.

The arrow whistles through the air and hits its target, going deep into Smaug’s hide. Smaug thrashes around in the air before finally falling dead into the lake.

While there are many little pieces of life lessons to be learned here, the moment Bard told his son to look at him and not the danger, I saw something that God does with us. God tells His children to look at Him and not at the danger.

God is always ready to protect His children from danger, and He will always do so. But it is easier on the children when they trust their Father. It is easy to move the wrong way or to be hurt when you look at the danger. But if you look at God, you will realize that the danger isn’t so bad. God knows what He’s doing.

God is ready to slay your dragons, but you only get the best out of it when you watch Him.