Two days after my daughter purchased her first used car, it wouldn’t start. After fiddling with the battery, I tried hooking it back up. That was a big mistake. Little did I know that reattaching the battery cables would set off the most loud and obnoxious sounding car alarm I’ve ever heard (We didn’t even know it was installed on the car.)

Not a good way to score points with the neighbors at 10 p.m.

After frantically trying everything I could think of to make it stop, I disconnected the battery. Whew! Silence.

Still, I was at a complete loss as to why it happened. So I asked the man who sold us the car if he knew how to shut off the alarm. He didn’t, but He pointed me to the Internet. There I found a solution to hook up the battery and start the car without waking up the neighborhood.

The experience reminds me of how often I feel “at a loss” as a counselor. There are many times I’m deeply aware that I don’t have all the answers for the pain and commotion in a client’s life. But I know that I can point to the One who does.

Peter was a man who understood this. During a time when many of Jesus’ disciples were turning away and deserting Him, Jesus asked His 12 closest followers, “Are you also going to leave?” (John 6:67). Peter, apparently speaking for the rest of the group, said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life” (John 6:68).

Jesus is the One to point to, especially when it seems that there is nowhere else to go. He alone can bring us real peace and hope as we experience the loud commotions of this world.