Living Cheerfully in a “Be” World

Acts 27:25

Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

There are two types of people in Acts 27 that show the two types of people in life. The first type of person is the one who needs circumstances to make them cheerful and happy. The men of the ship were despondent and negative about their situation, but when Paul took the bread and blessed it and ate it, the Scriptures say about the men in the ship, then were they all of good cheer.

The second type of person was the Apostle Paul, who found life not to be in agreement with him. He was a prisoner being transferred by ship to Rome. During the transfer, they encountered a storm that seemed to be so great that it would take their lives. Despite the dire situation, Paul was cheerful and positive about life and had a positive perspective that they would make it out of this situation alive.

Two words determine the outcome of both of these situations. The first word is then, and the second word is be. Then was dependent on the surrounding circumstances to be cheerful; whereas, be was a choice to be cheerful despite the circumstances. If you live in the then world, you will always be dependent on outside circumstances to live a cheerful life. If you live in the then world, it won't matter how good life is, you will always find yourself not having a cheerful spirit. However, if you live in the be world, it won't matter what the world throws at you, you will always be cheerful because you have found that cheerfulness does not depend on outside circumstances, but is found by Who you have living within you. You will always find a purpose to be cheerful despite the horrific circumstances in your life if you choose to live in the be world.

It is a choice to live in a be world. Notice Paul said, be of good cheer. He was telling them to make the choice to be cheerful. You will never make your world better by living in a then world that depends on circumstances to make life better. Choosing to live in the be world is a choice that you will find something to be cheerful about despite how bad life may be. If you wait for circumstances to make you cheerful, you will wait for the remainder of your life for the right circumstances to be cheerful. Life is too short to live waiting to be cheerful; I would rather choose to live in the be world that is cheerful.

Moreover, living in the be world is a choice of a perspective. You can always live a negative life because you can always find something in life to be negative about. However, you can always live a cheerful life because you choose to be cheerful. Your choice of perspective does determine whether you are cheerful or negative. Life is short; therefore, I choose to live away from the world of the negative and to live in the world of the positive. You must choose to change your negative perspective to a positive perspective if you are to live in the be world of the cheerful.

Furthermore, you will live in the be world of the cheerful if you choose to believe God. Living a cheerful life is found by choosing to believe God when He says that He is in control. Your belief in God is revealed by your spirit; if you have a negative spirit, you show that you don't believe God; whereas, if you have a cheerful spirit, you display that you believe that God is in control, and that is why you are cheerful.