'Be of Good Cheer'

And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. - Acts 27:20-25

    'When neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was taken away' (27:20). In those circumstances, Paul stood up and said, 'I exhort you to be of good cheer' (20:22). When all hope was gone, Paul said, 'Be of good cheer.' You can imagine the response: 'Come on now, Paul. What do you mean, "Be of good cheer"? Are you out of your mind? We are going to be wrecked, and there is nothing we can do!' 'Nevertheless,' Paul says, 'I exhort you to be of good cheer.' Remember, he had advised them not to set sail in the first place, warning them of imminent danger (27:10). And, though he reminded them that they should have listened to him and that their present trouble was their own fault (27:21), yet he says, 'Be of good cheer.' Assuring them by the Word of God that not one of them would be lost, he repeated himself saying, 'Sirs, be of good cheer' (27:25).

    If Paul could speak those words to unbelieving men regarding deliverance from a storm at sea, surely every believer is justified in saying to himself with regard to all the affairs of his life, 'Be of good cheer.' It does not matter what your circumstances in this world are, if you belong to God, if you are born of his Spirit, you have every reason to 'be of good cheer'. There is nothing holy or sanctifying about gloominess, despondency and morbid pessimism. In fact, these things are the exact opposites of holiness and sanctification. God the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, not our tormentor! He comes to bring comfort and cheer, not despair and gloom. Our heavenly Father delights to see his children rejoicing. And those who honour God most are those saints who walk before him with cheerful, believing hearts.

    Search the Scriptures and see if the Lord God does not constantly say to his people in this world, 'Be of good cheer' (Ps. 16:5-6; Prov. 15:13,15,30; 17:22; Eccles. 2:24; 9:8-10; Phil. 4:4). Among the first things named as the fruit of the Spirit is 'joy' (Gal. 5:22). Believers should be people of perpetual joy and good cheer!

    When all hope was gone, in so far as outward evidence was concerned, in the midst of terrible darkness and a raging storm, Paul found five reasons to 'be of good cheer'.

    1. Paul was conscious of the presence of God

    In verse 23 he says, 'There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.' God was there with him in the midst of the storm! The angel of God stood by him and spoke to him. We too may be sure that when trouble comes to us, 'The Lord is at hand' (Phil. 4:5). When all outward evidence of hope is gone, the Lord God will speak to you and say, 'Be of good cheer.' No, he will not speak to you by an audible voice. But he will speak to you by his Spirit, through his Word, assuring you of his presence to protect you (Isa. 43: 1-7), provide for you (2 Cor. 12:9) and preserve you (Jude 24-25). Then, like Paul, you can say to others, 'Be of good cheer, the Lord God is still on his throne. He is still in charge. He is still running things. The Lord knows what he is doing. He has not made a mistake. So, "Be of good cheer."'

    This episode on the sea was just one of many times when the Lord Jesus manifestly fulfilled his promise to Paul in which he said, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world' (Matt. 28:20). The same thing happened to him at Corinth (18:9-10), at Jerusalem (23:11) and at Rome (2 Tim. 4:16-17). Child of God, the Lord Jesus is with you too. In your times of great trouble and need, your God is with you. When the doctor says, 'I'm very sorry, but I have to tell you, you have cancer,' the Lord is with you. He will not forsake you. When the telephone rings and the sombre voice on the line says, 'I'm sorry to ring, but there has been an accident. Your loved one has been killed,' the Lord will be with you. So long as we live in this world, we must go through the deep waters of trouble and the fiery furnace of adversity. In the midst of problems, pains and perplexities, let every believer be convinced of the presence of God, hear him say, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee' (Heb. 13:5) and 'be of good cheer'.

    2. Paul was conscious of the fact that he belonged to God

    He said, 'There stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve.’ If we can in the midst of our trials realize this great fact, that we belong to God, we shall find reason to 'be of good cheer', even in the midst of trouble. We sometimes sing, 'Now I belong to Jesus.' Is that a fact? Then be of good cheer! We who believe belong to Christ by divine predestination (Eph. 1:4-6), divine purchase (Eph. 1:7-12) and divine power (Eph. 1:13-14).

    We belong to Christ asa bride belongs to her husband. In the Old Testament and in the New, the relationship of Christ and his people is constantly compared to the intimate, loving union of a husband and wife (Eph. 5:25-30; S. of S. 6:3).

    We belong to our God as a child belongs to his father. Donald Grey Barnhouse once suggested that as soon as the doctor cuts the umbilical cord that binds a baby to its mother, 'God creates a sort of invisible cord that binds the baby to the father. It immediately transforms the man's nature and he begins to understand, "That's my boy!"' When that happens, there is a blessed picture of our relationship to God. He loves us infinitely more than any earthly father ever loved his son (1 John 3:1).

    Again, we belong to our Lord as sheep belong to the shepherd. The Lord calls us his sheep. David said, 'The Lord is my Shepherd.' The life and welfare of sheep are the responsibility of the shepherd charged with watching over them. And the Lord Jesus has promised to protect and keep his sheep (Isa. 40:11; John 10:27-30). Someone once asked an old believer, 'What do you do when you are in trouble?' He replied, 'I look to heaven and say, "Lord, your property is in danger."' That is how Paul felt. He belonged to God. He knew God would take care of him.

    3. Paul was conscious of the fact that he was God's servant

    He was on business for God. He spoke plainly of God as him 'whom I serve'. The law of the land is clear. If you are working for a company, that company is responsible for you. If you are injured while working for the company, the company must take care of you. The Lord God will do no less! If you are God's servant, doing God's business, he will take care of you. His honour is at stake. He promised, 'Them that honour me I will honour' (1 Sam 2:30). 'My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus' (Phil. 4: 19). 'He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways' (Ps. 91:11).

    4. Paul was conscious of God's total sovereignty

    He knew that the Lord God, to whom he belonged, whom he served, his heavenly Father, was as much in control of the storm as he is of the calm. Therefore, being confident that his God would and could do all that he had said, he was of good cheer. Nothing, child of God, will sustain your soul in peace and joy like the conscious realization of his absolute sovereignty over all things (Rom. 8:28-30; 11:36).

    5. Paul was fully convinced of God’s faithfulness

    God had made an absolute promise of deliverance and safety to Paul. Because he knew God to be faithful, he said, 'I believe God,' and exhorted all who were with him to 'be of good cheer'. Do not ever imagine that anything takes God by surprise, or is beyond his control. He upholds all things by the word of his power, and he upholds you in his great faithfulness. Therefore, 'No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord' (Isa. 54:17).

    Be not dismayed, whate'er betide,

    God will take care of you.

    Beneath his wings of love abide;

    God will take care of you,

    Through every day, o'er all the way,

    He will take care of you.

    God will take care of you!

    I exhort you, therefore, 'to be of good cheer'!