Philippians 4:4-9

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Psalm 34:19

¹⁹ A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all

Joel 3:10

¹⁰...let the weak say, I am strong.

Romans 4:17

¹⁷...calls things that are not as though they were.

Acts 27:22

²²And now I exhort you to be of good cheer

Be of Good Cheer

Kenneth Copeland

"And now I exhort you to be of good cheer." (Acts 27:22)

What do you do when you're in a really perilous situation?

If you're like I used to be, you cry out to God in desperation. One afternoon when I was squalling to God about something, He interrupted me and said, "Kenneth, did you know I don't hear the cry of My children when they cry out in desperation?"

"What?" I said. "I thought you did."

He said, "No, I hear the desperation cry of a sinner because that's all he can cry about. But once you get born again, son, you ought to be crying out of faith. I hear the faith cry."

What is a faith cry? It's calling things that be not as though they were (Rom. 4:17). It's what the Bible means when it says, "Let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 3:10).

The Apostle Paul knew how to use the faith cry. That's why in Acts 27 he exhorted the men on that battered, sinking ship to "be of good cheer." He was telling them to start acting by faith. Can't you imagine what those sailors thought when he said that? "Listen to that stupid preacher. We're sinking and he says be of good cheer. We've thrown everything we have overboard and he says be of good cheer."

You may feel just like those sailors did, right now. You may feel like your ship's going down. You may feel like crying out in desperation. But don't do it. Instead, do what Paul said and be of good cheer!

Cry out to God in faith and say, "Lord, I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to despair. I'm going to be of good cheer because Your Word says You'll deliver me from this situation" (Ps. 34:19).

Then start being cheerful. It may take more determination than anything you've ever done before, but God will give you the strength to do it. He'll give you the power to be cheerful in the middle of the most ungodly darkness the devil can bring up.

Instead of crying out in desperation, take a faith stand. Sing and rejoice and praise God for your deliverance. Be of good cheer and you can be sure God will bring you through the storm just fine!

---

Scripture Study: Philippians 4:4-9

Beware of the Thief

Luke 12:39 - But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

What are the times when you and I are most vulnerable to being caught off guard by the enemy of our souls? One of those times is just after you've had a great victory. Consider Jesus when He was baptized and was about to begin His public ministry. He was taken away into the desert to be tempted by satan.

Leisure time is another place in which satan seeks to take us off our normal routine of personal quiet times. In the normal routine of life, our senses are tuned to the need to draw upon God's Spirit to see us through the activities of each day. However, when we get away from our routine and go on vacation, we can often drop these routines. We wrongfully think that we do not need to spend time with the Lord during leisure times. This is a grave mistake. The vacation becomes a test of character. During vacations we turn freely to what we love most. It reveals to us what is at the core of our existence.

A teacher in a large school reportedly said, "The greatest difficulty we encounter is the summer vacation. Just when we have brought a student to a certain discipline and place in their study habits, we lose him; when he comes back we have to begin all over again." It is the same in our spiritual lives. It only takes a small crack in the door of our heart to lose our spiritual focus.

This summer, be on guard when times of retreat are made available to you. Use these times for spiritual refreshment, not just physical refreshment, and you will keep the thief from entering your house.