Hey, Carpool Crew, welcome back. I'm Pastor Justin. Happy Saturday. I hope your weekend is off to an awesome start. Now, you know when you walk through the room and the news is on, and you only catch a few words about something that might have happened somewhere else? And then you're looking at the grown-ups and maybe they turn it down. Yeah, I've had moments like that with my own kids being the one turning down the volume so they don't hear. Well, let's jump in with the one thing that I want you to remember for the ride. God is your safe place. Listen to this from Psalm 46:2. "Therefore, we will not be afraid. Though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas." Now, here's what's going on. Psalm 46 is a song about God. The verse right before this one says, "God is our refuge and strength," a helper who's always found in times of trouble. A refuge is a safe place, somewhere you can run when something scary is happening. Then the song says, "Therefore, because God is our safe place, we will not be afraid." And look at how big it goes. Even if the earth shakes, even if the mountains fall into the sea, that's the biggest, scariest thing the writer could think of. And he says, "Even then, God is still our safe place." Now, notice what the song does not say. It doesn't say bad things won't happen. Because mountains falling into the sea is a very bad thing. It says that when they do, God is still there, and He's easy to find. Here's what happens when you hear a few words on the news. Your brain will fill in the rest. Now, it happened in your town. Now, it's coming to your street. Your brain makes it bigger and closer than it is, and it forgets the part the song puts first, God is our refuge. Maybe it's something on the news. Maybe it's a storm coming, and you can see the clouds moving in. Maybe it's a siren at night or something a kid at school said that scared you. Hey, this week, that might happen, and if it does, I want you to try this. When you only hear part of something scary, ask a parent for the whole story. Say something like, "I heard something on the news," or, "A friend said something. Can you tell me what really happened?" Now, grownups can tell you what's true and how far away it actually is, it might lead to a great conversation that you didn't expect. Now, hey, let's go back to the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. God is your safe place. No matter what is happening anywhere else in the world, you can know that God knows your name, cares about you, is there when you're sleeping, and is there when you wake up. Remember, Carpool Crew, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. Hey, and parents, if you've been liking this podcast, do you know that you can recommend it to your church? We would love to talk to your kids' pastor or a leader and maybe make it available to all the families in your church. There's a link in our show notes, carpoolingwithjesus.com/churches. We'd love to have you check it out and send it to the kids' pastor at your church. Now before you go, let's answer this question together. What is something you only heard part of, and who could tell you the whole truth about it? I'll see you tomorrow on Carpooling With Jesus.
