My Talk
I was assigned as a speaker during the lockdown of this pandemic. It was a virtual effort made by our ward. I thought of sharing it with you today. I hope that this message that I gave for my ward will also give you light and inspiration.
I thought of refreshing my mind of the times when Jesus Christ said, be of good cheer.
Why did the Lord advise this to us?
I searched the scriptures and I've seen three occasions in the New
Testament.
First, in Matthew 14:22-27.
22 ¶ And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.
23 And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to apray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
24 But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.
25 And ain the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.
26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.
27 But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good acheer; it is I; be not afraid.
Second, Matthew 9:2
2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the apalsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their bfaith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good ccheer; thy dsins be forgiven thee.
Third, Acts 23:11
11 And the night following the aLord bstood by him, and said, Be of good ccheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at dRome.
On the first occasions, I felt that fear, unconfident, and uncertainty was present during this time. I felt doubt was present for the second occasion. And lastly, being hopeless of circumstances.
What usually happens to us if we have problems that we
cannot solve, worries that we cannot let go, confusion about how to face sudden challenges and circumstances in the family, work, and business. Most of the common reactions we have were;
- We questioned ourselves and the Lord. Questions that seem to have no
sure answers. We doubt ourselves on what we can do and we doubt what the Lord
can do for us.
- We fear.
- When we negatively think of what will happen to us and to our love
ones, it l make us panic and uneasy.
- When we panic, we tend to say and do things that can harm and hurt another person. We tend to focus on our emotions.
In John 16:33, Jesus Christ said,
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have apeace. In the bworld ye shall have ctribulation: but be of good dcheer; I have eovercome the world.
In my own perspective, being of good cheer is choosing to be courageous when we feel fear. It is being confident and trusts in the promises of the Lord for us. It is being determined and faithful. And being optimistic in each of our circumstances.
the kind of happy that illuminates you from the inside out, a joy that does not depend on what happens to you, but what you do with what happens.
How can we be of good cheer like Jesus Christ?
First, inhale deeply. I think learning meditation can help us feel better. We can learn to delay or hold our emotions to circumstances. We can better respond.
Second, divert our focus from negative thoughts and fears into
important things that we need to do for the situation that we are facing.
Whatever circumstances or problems that we are at the moment, I know that the Lord knows how we exactly feel.
Inspirations I received
The Lord tells us to be of good cheer because He doesn't want that because of our challenges and circumstances will make our heart hardened. He doesn't want because of our problems our words become bitter, ungrateful, unforgiving, worrying, and easy to get angry.
He wants us to be of good cheer because He wants to see us faithful, hopeful. He promised that He will always be with us. And because we are cheerful, we can easily testify that He was the one who helped in our circumstances.
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