"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
If I would ask you who your favorite Christian artist is, how would you answer? Lauren Daigle, Toby Mac, Brandon Lake, Matthew West, or one of the other hundreds of possibilities?
At the start of each of my religion classes, I play a Christian song that correlates with the lesson. Often, my students tease me because I frequently introduce each artist as “This is one of my favorites!” The truth is that I have a lot of favorites, and one activity that my husband and I truly enjoy is attending concerts and hearing these artists perform their songs live!
Last summer, we had the extreme joy of traveling with dear friends to attend the KLOVE “Live At Red Rocks” concert in Colorado. During this two-day event, we had the great pleasure of seeing twelve of our “favorite” bands perform in one of the most majestic outdoor theaters. In addition, as we were hiking one day in Red Rocks, we could hear the groups warming up in the theater. Racing over to the venue, we learned that all of the Christian artists were allowing free admission to their sound checks, so there we sat as close as we could to some of our “favorite” Christian musicians!
However, with temperatures ranging in the mid 90s and the venue resting on an altitude of 6,450 feet, the conditions were a little challenging for some artists, especially when their stage was set up in the middle of the stands with no protection from the sun.
After sitting in the scorching heat for almost an hour as she waited for her turn, one young artist was struggling from not only the conditions, but also the feedback from her microphone. Her band kept rehearsing and trying to get the timing correct. I was sitting close enough to her to overhear her say to her band mates, “You guys, I’m not going to lie. I am really struggling right now!" One of her band mates stated, “It’s your microphone. I told you that you should have gotten a new one!” At that particular moment, I could tell by the look on her face that was not a helpful nor comforting comment. However, the other band mate was much more encouraging and stated, “I think we’re good. I’ll get a new microphone, and you’re going to do great!”
As the band was packing up, I felt a strong nudge of the Holy Spirit to go over and encourage her. It took me a few minutes for me to listen and to follow God’s push, but I finally went over to her and said, “You are such a blessing to so many people, especially young girls, who listen to your music! You’ve got this and God’s got you!"
Sometimes, people need to hear words of hope and encouragement, and God wants to use us to be that voice!
Last Thursday was such an amazing day as the students of St. Matthew held a tailgate party as an avenue of hope and encouragement for the victims of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. As of this date, St. Matthew Lutheran School and Church has raised $4,034.00. It is our prayer that these funds will provide a means of hope and encouragement for those who have faced horrific circumstances and that they would see God’s love in this process.
God wants to use each of us to be His instruments as a means of sharing His love. Have a wonderful week looking for ways you can speak His words of hope and encouragement with others.
In His Love,
Mrs. Palka