For First and Final Answers Ask God

"Are you asking yourselves what I meant?" (John 16:19 NLT).

When Jesus met with his disciples near the end of his life here, he revealed new facts about God.

A few of the things he told his disciples went into their ears, but not their understanding. But instead of asking Jesus who was present with them, they wondered among themselves. Wondering with peers alone may cause wandering.

Bible studies, Christian literature, one-on-one conversations, lectures and sermons are all ways to increase our knowledge about God and his plan. The Bible is a God encyclopedia. But sometimes I don't understand or comprehend what I read. The white-space margins in my Bible are littered with question marks.

How do I get answers to the question marks on the pages or the question marks in life? Most often I talk with friends who are on the same path. Even when Jesus was within sight, the disciples were asking themselves what Jesus meant. Me? I'm guilty of that same mindset.

Even though Jesus is not visible for now, he still wants to answer and be the answer to my questions. On that night, a little later in Jesus' conversation he gave instructions for seeking wisdom after his ascension to the Father. "You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy" (16:24).

On that night, Jesus also talked about The Comforter, the Holy Spirit who would "convince the world of its sin, and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment," and he concluded by naming the prominent problem in the world. "The world's sin is unbelief in me" (John 16:; 8,9).

When I need answers to life's perplexing problems or understanding of a commandment or a story in God's word, I want to first whisper in Jesus' name, "Alpha and Omega, Beginning and End, please, explain this to me. Help me understand. Give me wisdom so that I can do you will. I don't want to wonder and only ask of others. I want to ask you because I don't want to wander."