COVID 19 ENCOURAGEMENT EPISODE 06

Hi, this is Chris Benjamin, the director for the Salvation Army Soundcast. We wanted to take this opportunity to share some additional messages of encouragement with you from some of our hosts from shows like Wonderful Words of Life and Heartbeat. We just pray that these are an extra blessing to you.

If they are, please share them with a friend. God bless. Hello and thank you for joining us today. We hope that these scriptures will bring you some encouragement for your day. My name is Caleb Loudon and I am happy to read from the Bible to you and to read two passages today.

The first coming from Isaiah chapter 26 verses three through four. You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord, the Lord is the rock eternal. And then from Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew chapter 11, starting with verse 28. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. When I read particularly this last scripture, I was reminded of a story from World War One and the Salvation Army's work there when in France one night a couple young women in the Salvation Army were ministering to a group of 200 soldiers on the front lines. They found that the only shelter there was left in this particular town was an old church that itself had been nearly demolished. And so they gathered there one night and asked these women to sing to them some popular songs. As the night continued, they began to also request that the women sing with them some hymns from their childhood. And so they began to worship together that night. The women then were asked to sing a song with just their voices, and the song they chose was Beautiful Christ. And following that song, they led the men in Our Father, the Lord's Prayer, I Am Prayed Together.

And in that moment, these women led these 200 men who had seen and experienced quite a lot to the Lord while they all sat there underneath a picture of Jesus that had been painted in that church. And I was thinking of that today as I was reading this passage because I was reminded that no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, we can lead one another and indeed lead ourselves to the Lord and rely upon Him to sustain us, to strengthen us, and to give us peace. Thank you, and we hope this has been an encouragement to you. Let me pray to close our time together. Father, we thank you that no matter what the circumstances might be, no matter what might be happening, Lord, in this planet, no matter how serious and challenging times might get, God, we can always come to You and to Your Son because His promise is as true today as it always has been to us. That those who are weary and heavy laden can come to Him and find rest. We thank you, Lord, for that, and we thank You for the peace that Your Spirit brings to each one of us. We pray that those experiencing anxiety today and fear in these challenging times would experience also that peace which passes understanding. We love You, Father, and we thank You and pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Thank you, friends.