Hey, Carpool crew. I'm Pastor Justin. Happy Monday. I hope you had a great weekend. Now, you remember that moment when the fire alarm goes off in the middle of class and your whole body freezes before anyone says a word? Let's jump in with the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. Do the next small thing. Now, we've talked about this before on the podcast, right? And I want you to hear this from Exodus 14:15. "The Lord said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to break camp.'" Now, here's what's going on. God's people have just escaped from Egypt. Now they're standing at the edge of the sea, and the Egyptian army is coming after them. Now, we use this imagery for Carpooling With Heroes of the Bible. If you ever looked at that graphic, that is the parting of the Red Sea in the middle of a road, and there's Moses, and there's the Carpool Crew. This is something that is really memorable. Now, here's the thing. Everyone is really scared. They are really, really scared, and they're crying out to God. Moses tells them, "Don't be afraid. Stand firm," and that the Lord will fight for them. And then God tells Moses what to do next. Tell the people to break camp. That means pack up and get moving. God is about to split the sea open, and the first thing he gives them is one thing to do. That's what I want you to see, Carpool Crew. God didn't say, "Calm down first." He didn't say, "Wait until they stop being scared." He gave scared people the next step. See, when you're scared, sometimes your body locks up. That's real. You don't know what to do next. Maybe it's chaotic or a stressful moment, or it's a dangerous moment. You just don't know what to do. You're a kid. You haven't had the training. You can't think of the whole plan in that moment. But you can almost always do one small thing next, and God is with you in that one small thing. Maybe it's a fire alarm, and maybe it's the first day of a new class. Maybe something dangerous is happening, and your parents tell you to do something immediately. Maybe it's walking into a doctor's office or the dentist, and maybe it's just the start of a test. See, it can be big, or it can be small. So this week, just try this. The next time your body freezes up, Pick the smallest thing you can do. Maybe it's just standing up and then pushing in a chair. Maybe it's grabbing your backpack and moving to the door. Maybe it's looking at mom and dad for a little reassurance before you walk into the office. Whatever it is, you can do it. Now, you can say to God, "I'm scared. Help me do the next thing," and guess what? He will. He will help you. Now, let's go back to the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. Do the next small thing. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, you probably know another family whose kid comes home shaky on fire drill day or gets really nervous, doesn't know what to do when a big test is happening. Go ahead and share this episode with them. Sometimes the right conversation starts with one simple send. Now, before you go, let's answer this question together. What's one small thing you can do when the rest of your body feels stuck? I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling with Jesus.
