Be of Good Cheer

When the angel announcing the Savior’s birth visited the shepherds, he said this: “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). He wanted them to have joy at the knowledge of the birth of the Son of God. That is an invitation for all of us who believe in the Savior: we should have joy because Christ came to earth to save all mankind. Especially at Christmastime we should remember the good tidings and the great joy that comes through Jesus Christ. One popular Christmas song puts it this way: “It's the most wonderful time of the year, With the kids jingle belling, And everyone telling you be of good cheer.” Or, as another more reverent Christmas song puts it, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King!” A knowledge of the Savior should give us great joy, so much that “saints and angels sing,” and surely we should too.

               To “be of good cheer” is actually an injunction that the scriptures have repeated often. When Nephi was worried about the threat to the righteous and the sign which had not yet come, the Savior said this to him: “Lift up your head and be of good cheer; for behold, the time is at hand, and on this night shall the sign be given, and on the morrow come I into the world, to show unto the world that I will fulfil all that which I have caused to be spoken by the mouth of my holy prophets” (3 Nephi 1:13). When people brought Jesus a man sick of the palsy Jesus said to him, “Son, be of good cheer; they sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2). The sick man and those who had brought him could all be of good cheer because Jesus was able to help and to heal. When the disciples were laboring in the storm in the middle of the night, the Savior came to them and said this: “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matthew 14:27). Even in the midst of our struggles He wants us to be of good cheer knowing that He is with us. I love the assurance He gave His apostles at the end of His life: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Again, we should be of good cheer because in Him we can have peace. He has overcome the world. Later when Paul was in prison, the Savior came to him. Luke recorded, “And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome” (Acts 23:11). Even in a very difficult situation, the Lord wanted Paul to know that He was with him and that he could be of good cheer. In all of these examples, the good cheer comes because the Savior is with and will bless His people.

The Lord used this phrase in speaking to the Saints in this dispensation as well. He said, “And now, verily I say unto you, and what I say unto one I say unto all, be of good cheer, little children; for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you” (Doctrine and Covenants 61:36). He wants all of us to be of good cheer. He explained further in another passage why we should be of good cheer: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:6). The Son of the Living God has promised to be with us and stand by us—that should bring us cheer! In another powerful verse He said this: “And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours” (Doctrine and Covenants 78:18). The Lord will lead us along and has promised us the riches of eternity. These passages remind us that we should be of good cheer because Christ is with us. He will lead us, He with stand by us, and He is in our midst. At this most “wonderful time of year” and throughout all the year, we should be of good cheer because we have a Savior who came to His people in the past and still comes today to help and bless and be with those who put their trust in Him.