Who Is Trying To Find Answers But Doesn’t Know The Question

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

WHEN ONE OF OUR CHILDREN FACED a perplexing medical condition, Jared and I looked for answers everywhere. I took our child to see doctors. I called specialists. I researched online. I found forums for parents dealing with similar symptoms. Despite all my efforts, I couldn’t seem to get to the bottom of what was going on. I was just trying to help our child, but I didn’t even fully understand what needed to be done. That’s when I realized I wasn’t even sure I knew the right questions to ask.

Can you relate? Maybe you haven’t searched for medical help for your child, but perhaps you have gone through another uncertain situation. Maybe you’ve searched for answers about your own health, your husband’s health, or a parent’s health. Maybe you’ve sought answers about schooling, work, moving, friends, relationships, or extended family. Maybe you’re wondering what to do next, where to go next, what this next phase of life is going to look like—but you don’t even know exactly what you’re hoping for.

Whenever I’m looking for answers but don’t even know the right questions to ask, I often think of Nicodemus, a religious leader in Jesus’s day. Late one night Nicodemus came to Jesus, asking Him all sorts of questions. As a religious expert, he was supposed to be the one with all the answers, but this man, Jesus, puzzled him. He had heard about the miracles Jesus had performed. He had heard the words that Jesus had spoken. He knew what the ancient Scriptures said about the Messiah. Yet still Nicodemus could not make sense of it all.

So by cover of night, Nicodemus came to Jesus and asked, “How can these things be?” It was as if he was trying to find answers but didn’t even fully understand the questions he was asking. Jesus welcomed Nicodemus’s questions and told him about the wonderful mystery of God’s love. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, NKJV).

No matter the scenario that perplexes us, we can follow the lead of Nicodemus and come to Jesus with every area of uncertainty. We can trust that He doesn’t just know what we are asking, He knows how to best lead us. He knows how to care for us. He knows what our next step is and what the step after that will be as well. If you’re in need of answers, let’s pause and pray together.

Tonight we pray for the momma who is trying to find answers when she feels like she doesn’t even know the question. Lord, everything in her life may feel topsy-turvy right now. She is trying to find her way through a very unfamiliar situation, and she is struggling tonight. Lord, as a community of praying mommas, we link our arms in prayer for her. We say that You are good and that she can trust in You. Please bless her tonight.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Jesus, tonight I bring these questions to You: