The Question You Are Carrying

Hey Carpool Crew, welcome back to Carpooling with Jesus. I'm Pastor Justin, and happy Sunday. So there's a question that most of us have been carrying around for weeks, and you have never once said it out loud. So let's jump in with the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. God's words light the next steps. So Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path." Now, I'm sure a lot of you have heard this verse before. This is a very memorable verse. Maybe you see it with a drawing or a picture of a lamp. Now, a lamp back then in Bible times wasn't like a flashlight. It was a small clay dish with oil on it and one little flame, and it lit the ground right around your feet, and really not much more. That's the picture the writer of this Psalm picks on purpose. He doesn't ask God to light up the whole road, not the next mile, not the next couple miles. He calls God's word a lamp for his feet. Enough light for the next step. Then you take the step, and there's light for the one after that and the one after that. God's word lights your path. Here's what it means for any question you might be carrying. You don't have to have the whole answer, the whole thing figured out. You just need the next step in the answer, the next step of whatever you're asking. See, Jesus always welcomed questions. It's one of the reasons we do Questions from the Backseat, where anyone can submit a question on CarpoolingWithJesus.com/ask. And guess what? You can record your question so you can hear yourself on the podcast. It's pretty awesome. But Jesus always welcomed questions. When a man named Nicodemus came to Him at night with a pile of questions, Jesus sat there and answered him one by one. Jesus told people to keep asking questions, keep searching, keep knocking. He never once sent a real question away. He still doesn't. So it's November. You're at the kitchen table after dinner with an empty glass of milk, spinning a pencil, and you've got a question that you've been carrying since summer. Maybe it's, "Does God really hear me when I pray at night?" Twice this week, you got three words out and then swapped it for, "What time do we leave tomorrow?" Or, "Can I go play video games?" And the question went right back into your pocket. Now, yes, I've traded real questions for small ones too, more often than I probably want to admit. Don't tell my kids. But hey, this week, here's a couple things you could try when you have a big question. First, walk up to a grown-up in your house and say this, very simple, "Hey, can I ask you something I've been wondering about?" And then ask the real question. Second, and this is a good one, ask the question to God out loud. Maybe it's during prayer time in your room, maybe it's as you're on the way to school, or even on the way to church right now. It's Sunday. And you ask the question out loud. Just say, "God, I have a question." Now listen, let's go back to the one thing I want you to remember for the ride. God's words light the next step. Remember, no matter where you are or how you're listening, God loves you. And parents, if this podcast has been helping your family, let someone know about it. Share it with a parent you see, or post about it in a Facebook group. I hope other parents discover the podcast too because of you. Now before you go, let's answer this question together. What's one question about God you've been carrying around and haven't asked anyone yet? I'll see you tomorrow for a whole new week of Carpooling with Jesus.