Cheer hasn’t really been on my radar recently. I’ve been sitting in a lonely tent of discouragement, desperately trying to hold onto a shred of joy, a glint of light.
As I pondered and prayed about the word ‘cheer’ for this week’s five-minute-friday post, I wondered if I had anything to write about.
Then these words came to me as God whispered close…
“When life’s trials and tribulations leave you flat-out with fatigue, drowning in discouragement and tending toward despair, remember I AM near.
I bring cheer back to your cheerless soul. I bring rest for your anxiety and distress.
Come close. Let go of those cares and concerns. Drop them at My feet and leave them there.
You don’t have to do or be anything other than what you are.
I already love you eternally, completely, unconditionally.
You also won’t leave My presence the same as you were before.
Remember the promises in My word.
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” ~ John 16:33 (NKJV)
Remember that Holy Spirit sits within, longing to lead, guide, inspire and fire your thoughts and desires in My direction.
The world can be a hostile place but I offer a warm welcome and a loving embrace.
Come now. Don’t wait or hesitate. Come freely. Come frequently.
Let Me infuse cheer – as courage, confidence, comfort and hope – back into your weary soul.
Lean on Me and discover My strength in your weakness.
Let not your heart be troubled or afraid. I am with you, always.”
God sees cheer as:
Come to Me
Have Hope
Embrace My grace
Encourage your soul
Rest in My Love
Cheer is far more than a plastered on faked smile, a baked-on tan, being a winning team’s fan, raised clinking of glass in hand, or a happy greeting to our friends.
It doesn’t depend on our feelings, or the lack thereof.
[bctt tweet=”Godly cheer is what helps us to stay afloat in life’s storms – a soul’s anchor of courage”]
With cheer like that, as we rest in God, we can face anything that life springs on us.
I’m happy to be joining with the five-minute-friday writing crew today over at our gracious host, Kate Motaung’s place as we pour out our words on the prompt ‘cheer’. Do come on over, read the great posts being shared and join us here.
Also blessed to join with Barbie and Carrie at Lets Us Walk Worthy as we consider what God is teaching us this week for the #letusgrow link up, which you can find here.
Words of Joy 
Always receive wisdom through your thoughts and words. A lovely perspective on cheer…many thanks!
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Cynthia, I’m always amazed at the way God takes a word and runs with it. Each one of us is inspired in a unique way. And I love it when He gives me insights to share that help and encourage others. Bless you for stopping by, my friend. Have a great weekend! 🙂 x
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The peace that only God can bring about…the peace that passes all human understanding. Thus will indeed preach: “I bring cheer back to your cheerless soul. I bring rest for your anxiety and distress. Come close. Let go of those cares and concerns. Drop them at My feet and leave them there.” Praying you feel encouraged and not discouraged in the coming days. I’m in the #7 spot this week.
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Tara, the peace God brings is definitely beyond all understanding, rich in His comforting love and grace. He is always inviting us to come close and experience the rest our weary souls need. Thank you so much for your prayers! The dark curtain is finally beginning to lift and I sense a new beginning is nigh. Hope to stop by and read your post over the weekend. Bless you for faithfully reading these words and being such a valued part of this community. Xx
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Joy, this is such an inspiring post and a reminded that the cheer God gives is true and lasting! I’m so glad you found the words to share with us today. Blessings to you!
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Gayl, I’m so pleased you found some inspiration here! When I began to write I had no idea what would come forth. Praise God for His faithful provision! Blessings and hugs to you.
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You have a way of saying what I need to hear at just the right moment… Iv’e been in the same place as you for a while now… Thank you for ‘Cheer’. I hope the writing of it has lifted you as much as the reading of it has lifted me. Peace be with you. Kimmie x
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Kimmie, I am awed, humbled and truly thankful that God has a way of inspiring words to write that reach another’s heart, coming just when I need them and they do, too. It’s always my hope and prayer that others will be helped in reading these posts. I’m so sorry to hear you’ve been similarly afflicted. It’s a dark and horrible place to be in. May this be a turning point for you now. Praying for God to draw near to you, and the veil of discouragement to be lifted away as you sense His loving presence. Rest in His love, my friend. You are a joy and delight to Him and to all who know you, a worthy daughter just as you are, the apple of His eye. Peace and grace be with you, dear friend. x
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What a breath of fresh air this is. Thank you for pressing in to His hope when the tent of despair is pitched in your camp. The Hope we have in Him goes far beyond our circumstances and you are right we can rest in the promises of His presence.
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Amen to these words: “The Hope we have in Him goes far beyond our circumstances.” Yes, it is an eternal Hope which we have access to on a daily basis. I am grateful to have been given the means to keep pressing into His hope while “the tent of despair” was pitched in my camp. It’s been a long, hard journey of reaching for His hand in the dark and straining to see glimmers of light on the horizon. Praise God for the gift of His grace and ability to lift us out of any pit we may have fallen into! Bless you for stopping by.
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Such a beautiful perspective on cheer, Joy. I love the acronym and how God whispered His love and grace to you. This line is especially meaningful to me – “When life’s trials and tribulations leave you flat-out with fatigue, drowning in discouragement and tending toward despair, remember I AM near.” There is such comfort in knowing He is near no matter what we’re going through. Sometimes He is carrying us even when we don’t “feel” it. I hope you have a restful and hope-filled weekend! Hugs!
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Trudy, I am truly thankful for the gift of words that not only reassured my heavy heart but have also been a means of grace to others. We can always have the comfort of God’s continual presence, even when we fail to pay attention to it. Sometimes we just need to let ourselves be held, carried, comforted and cradled by His love. It helps to heal the sadness within and reminds us of how precious we are to Him. Thank you for your sweet prayer. I pray you have “a restful and hope-filled weekend” too, my friend. Blessings and hugs! x
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This is great, Joy, and it has a particular resonance today…for a couple of feet from me there is a sleepy baby Bullmastiff, who came to us this afternoon after being alone and abandoned. She can barely walk.
Now she is in a safe sleeping crate, lined with Barbara’s old jeans to give her comfort. Every so often, her tail thumps, a content and happy sound.
She had nowhere to go…and now she is is Home.
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Hi Andrew. Cheers to news of your newest member of the family! How lovely to be able to offer your new baby Bullmastiff a safe home, a place where she can be assured of a warm welcome, cosy bed to sleep in and lots and lots of love and affection. It must bring cheer to your soul to see her sleeping happily. One of the things that can be hardest to cope with when we are unwell and incapacitated is feeling of no use to God nor man (or dog), but He soon shows us little ways in which we can positively impact the lives of others even as our own remains hard and challenging. I see you doing that with opening your home to canine waifs and strays and in how you write so openly and movingly on your blog. I may not always get to read and respond but you remain in my thoughts and prayers. Bless you, friend.
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Love me a good acronym.
Especially if it communicates like this one does.
Your words bring a Scripture verse to mind: In God’s presence is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Thank you, Joy.
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Hi Michele, I “love me a good acronym” too! And I really appreciate the reminder of a Bible verse that is dear to my heart. God is so generous with His gifts, and joy is something I ache for in this season. Remembering that God is as close as our next breath, and taking time to be in His presence, can lead to a deeper awareness of the joy only He can provide. It also means that we have every incentive to seek to be with God. Bless you, my friend.
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Oh, yes, every incentive! So true!
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God is always reaching out to us, isn’t He? But oh how indifferent or neglectful our souls can be! Yet He provides all the incentives we need, if we would only stop and appreciate them. x
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I like that acrostic, Joy. I’m sorry cheer has been off your radar lately. ((hug)) I feel that way at times too. Busyness puts me in survival mode and that kind of makes you feel more empty. Cheer is filling, not depleting. I like your description of cheer. Hope your weekend is relaxing and cheerful. Xoxo
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Brenda, I’m sorry to hear you also have times of feeling cheerless. It’s a painful place to be in, isn’t it? I can relate to the busyness and need for distraction, although my ‘busyness’ is more of a passive pursuit whereby I spend too much energy and time with on-line activities. We can come away deadened rather than enlivened when we seek to hide away in the seeming safety of busyness. I agree that “cheer is filling, not depleting”, especially the kind that comes from God. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. I’m ‘busy’ answering comments here – ha ha! – at the moment and also enjoying the warm sunshine we’re currently experiencing. It feels like summer’s finally arrived. A good reason to be cheerful! Xox
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I love this prophetic-prayer that the Lord spoke to you! Especially this part touches me this morning: “I bring cheer back to your cheerless soul. I bring rest for your anxiety and distress.” It’s so easy to give in to the anxiety when it tries to overtake in the middle of the night. But we are so blessed to know the ONE who is not put off by our worries, but instead lifts them away from us! Thank you for these precious thoughts on TRUE Cheer! –Blessings and HUGS to you my friend.
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Hi Bettie, it’s lovely to see you here! Yes, I’m truly thankful that God gave me a ‘word’ to share. I never know what will emerge from these FMF prompts. Sometimes it’s reflective prose, a poem or a prayer whisper like this. Each occasion is cause for praise as words arrive that can (hopefully) speak to, bless and encourage those who read them. Amen to this: “we are so blessed to know the ONE who is not put off by our worries, but instead lifts them away from us!” Oh how hard life would be without knowing God! Thank you so much for sharing your insights and the way this post has stirred you. Blessings and HUGS to you, too, my friend. May you have a restful weekend.
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Beautiful post as always. i love the acrostic- if we can do those things it does help us find reasons for cheer, even when life is difficult. So true that it doesn’t all depend on our feelings- that however we feel we can take heart and find peace in knowing that Jesus has overcome.
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Carly, I love what you say here: “however we feel we can take heart and find peace in knowing that Jesus has overcome.” Amen! How often we need to be reminded of this encouraging truth. I’m glad this post spoke to you and that you like the acrostic. It’s not always easy to implement the things that help us to feel less stressed or depressed, is it? Those conditions tend to steal motivation and inspiration as well as leaching joy from our souls. I hope and pray you are in a stronger place than you were. Thank you for being here. I appreciate you, friend. x
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Beautiful, Joy. So needed to hear these words today (as I so often do). Helen xx
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Hi Helen. I’m so glad these words spoke to you. It’s always a pleasure to see you here. Xx
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This is so perfect and parallels so well my thoughts this week, “You don’t have to do or be anything other than what you are.” Thank you for sharing!
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Barbie, it’s lovely when our thoughts become enhanced or confirmed by things we read, isn’t it? I’m honoured to be a tiny part of the work going on in your mind and heart. May you continue to see how you are already pre-approved and made complete in Christ. God bless you, friend. 🙂 x
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Such a beautiful response to His whispered words, my friend. You inspire!
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June, I’m so grateful for the way God inspires us with His words! They bring hope and cheer to our hearts and encourage us to persevere with the listening aspects of prayer. It’s always lovely to see you here, dear friend. Bless you. x
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