A great little post over at Eucatastrophe on the power of the gospel, as demonstrated when Frodo and Sam are in Rivendell early in Fellowship of the Ring. The post ends with this:
The good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is of such a quality that the past, present, or imagined future, “good or ill, are not forgotten, but cease to have any power over the present.” We could write pages of application on this. If you are prone to worry about tomorrow, you need the gospel. If you tend to fear people or circumstances, you need the gospel. If you are paralyzed by regret or plagued by guilt, you need the gospel. Only the gospel can free us from these things.
I Commend Joy! 