Choosing to Be of Good Cheer

Just before healing a paralyzed man, Jesus said to him, “Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2).

When His disciples saw Him walking on water, He said to them, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid” (Matthew 14:27, Mark 6:45).

At the Last Supper, just before the events of Gethsemane and Calvary, He reassured His disciples, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Jesus gave similar words of comfort and reassurance to Nephi the evening before HIs birth. (See 3 Nephi 1:13), to Paul as he sat in prison in Jerusalem (Acts 23:11), and four times to church leaders in the 1830s (Doctrine and Covenants 61:36, 68:6, 78:18, 112:4).

These words represent His reassurance to us that we need not be afraid. They also represent a divine injunction that we should choose to not be afraid. President Jeffrey R. Holland once wrote, “We may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!” (“The Tongue of Angels,” General Conference, April 2007).

Years later, President Holland reiterated that point:

I submit that to “be of good cheer” (John 16:33) in the quest for “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13) may be the commandment that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful Latter-day Saints, almost universally disobeyed; and yet surely nothing could be more grievous to the Lord’s merciful heart.

“Pursuing the Fulness of Christ,” Liahona, April 2021

I wrote yesterday that fear can inhibit our reception of spiritual light. I think the Savior is teaching us that we have more agency over our emotional state than we realize. We can hush our fears, take courage, and find joy! We can choose to be cheerful, not fearful, especially when we remember that He is with us!

Today, I will follow the Savior’s instruction to be of good cheer. I will be grateful for the many blessings I enjoy, and I will trust His promise to help me overcome the adversities I face.