HOUSE OF ROBERTS BLOG

One of the things that resounds in my head and heart daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly is the goodness of God. If you know me, if I have been a leader in your life, or have counseled you over the years, you know that one of the most repetitive things that comes out of my mouth is the phrase “God is good, HE IS! Get your hopes up with him! He is with you, He is for you and He loves you!” Almost obnoxiously I have probably been like a broken record in some of your ears reminding you of this simple truth! Well….SORRY NOT SORRY because it's true and I have found that the way you think about God is so key to the way you interact with Him! 

I can say this with deep conviction because I have lived enough like with the Lord now! My life has not always been easy, it has been laced with struggle, pain, disappointment, rejection, health battles, confusion, and the list goes on! If you are alive then you too have had similar or different struggles. Struggle is inescapable in life—it’s part of breathing and being alive, but you know what I have found about every moment of struggle? If you allow it, it will reveal to you the goodness of God in a deeper and wider way that you haven’t seen before. I have seen him come through every time! Even if it wasn’t how I thought it would turn out. I have seen Him heal, restore, encourage, make a way, provide, be present in my time of need, change the desires of my heart, and the list goes on…He always shows up! He is GOOD! 

I have this moment of inner dialogue every time a hard season comes, I say, “Well, Lord, I am about to know You greater, I am about to love You deeper, and I am about to become a little bit more legit than I was before.” It’s like I know it’s about to get painful, but I know He is going be right with me, coaching me through, burning out what needs to go, and building up what He wants to build up in me because HE IS GOOD like that! Hard seasons have a way of taking your roots down deeper in Him and His goodness if you allow it! It purifies your love for Him! It’s easy to think He is good when all is going right, when there is overflow in the bank account when you prayed today, and it was answered the next day, when the promotion came, when the greatest man of God walked into your life, when your kids are healthy and thriving when you are moving about like with clarity and boldness. But is He still good when things look lean, when you're battling health issues, when there is a struggle in marriage, when your kid is a battle, and when you feel confused in life? Can you still see His goodness, can you love and seek him when it “feels like” He is far off, can your mouth still praise and declare His truth even though lies surround you?! This is territory where the reality of His goodness can take off in your life, where you become stronger in your love for Him because you are still able to praise His name and say He is good even in the face of deep pain and struggle. This is where you gain ground from the enemy and are formed more in the image of God.

 I always have this image in my head, in these moments where I can see the enemy at the doorway of my pain, and I can hear him asking me, “Is your God still good? If He was with you, why would this have happened? Will you still praise His name?” Passionately, my spirit rises up and says YES! Yes, He is still good, and I still love him, and my life will serve Him, and my mouth will praise Him all the days of my life! Immediately in these moments, I see the enemy flee, and I now own the ground he was standing on when he was taunting me! 

David in Psalms 103, spoke to his soul and commanded it to Praise the Lord and recount all of His benefits. To recite every good and perfect thing about the Lord, everything he knew and had experienced about the Lord up to that point in life. He says it three times “Praise the Lord oh my soul.” He must have needed to repeat it, till his soul caught up with his spirit and believed it! This is beautiful, powerful, and is the way! Sometimes you are going to have to repeat and command your soul multiple times in a day to recall the goodness of God. To think on His goodness, His faithfulness, His might and power, His healing, His forgiveness, His patience, His kindness…Till every part of you BELIEVES IT! This practice will make you a weapon in the hand of God and a threat to the gates of Hell. 

So I am going to remind you what I remind myself and what I would remind you of, if you were sitting across from me having coffee, God is good, HE IS! Get your hopes up with him! He is with you, He is for you and He loves you! Wherever you find yourself today, let your mouth declare His goodness, and if you are struggling to see it, tell Him, ask Him to help you! He will! He will bring His goodness in your life to mind! I am praying for you, I am cheering for you, and believing for the goodness of God to hit your life in a fresh new way this week!