Hey, Carpool Crew. Welcome back. I'm Pastor Justin. Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. You know when you hop on the bus to go on a field trip, or maybe you're sitting next to someone on the bench or before your music practice starts, and you know that they always say some stuff that you just don't wanna hear? Well, let's jump in with the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. Count who is actually with you. Listen to this from Second Kings chapter six verse 17. "Then Elisha prayed, 'Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.' So the Lord opened the servant's eyes and he saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." Now here's what's going on. An enemy army has surrounded the city where Elisha is staying. Elisha's servants get up early, they walk outside, and they see it. Horses, chariots, soldiers in every direction. He runs back and says, "What are we gonna do?" And Elisha says, "Don't be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them." Then he prays that God would open the servant's eyes. And the servant sees the mountain covered with horses and chariots of fire. It's God's army, and it had been there the whole time. Look at what Elisha doesn't do. He doesn't say the enemy army isn't real. It was real. He says, "You haven't counted everybody yet. There's more on our side than you can see." Now here's what fear does to us. It counts the loud kids, it counts the ones who say stuff that we probably don't wanna hear, and it is not wrong. Those kids are real. But it stops counting there. It never counts the people on the bus who know your name. Maybe the driver who says hi to you. Maybe a coach that gives you a high five and encourages you. Or just another friend of yours from class who's sitting in the seat right in front of you. See, there are people all around, and that doesn't even count God, Who is on the bus, on the bench, with you every moment of every day. Now, maybe it's the bus. Maybe it's the lunchroom or a new classroom or a team. Maybe it is your church where you're new and you don't know everyone yet. How about this week, if you're in a situation like that, give this a try instead? Before you count all the people who are there who maybe make things a little hard for you, take a moment and count the people who are for you, the friends you see, the people you know, those who know your name, and obviously, do not forget to count God, who's there with you every step of the way. Yeah, there's gonna be some people who make things tough, but God is always with you, and you always have people that you can count on around you. You just have to look for them. Let's go back to the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. Count who is actually with you. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if this podcast has been helpful to your family, would you be willing to share it with a friend? Just text them a link or drop a link in a Facebook group. Or better yet, snap a photo and tag us on Instagram. We'd love to see it, and I'm sure the people who follow you would love to see it, too. Now before you go, let's answer this question together. Who's someone you see during the day that you could count as being on your side? I'll see you tomorrow, Carpool Crew. Have a good one.
