Oral Roberts was a true general in the body of Christ yet received much criticism for his bold proclamation of faith which still stands as his legacy, “Something good is going to happen to you today!” It always amazes me that people will fight for their right to be miserable, expecting life to hand them a heaping scoop of defeat.
Bro. Roberts continued his statement encouraging people, “Choose the imperishable, see the invisible and do the impossible.” Such words create a paradigm that takes hold of the Father’s hand in Christ and raises us to new levels of faith that demand supernatural ability and strength. It doesn’t ignore the fact that we all face struggles and hardships, instead it recognizes that through the empowerment of grace and the helping hand of mercy we rise above them.
The simple statement still stands, “God is good; the devil is bad.” You can’t get around the simplicity of this quote without a religious mindset that explains tragedy as God’s tool to perfect His saints. If this were true, then grace and mercy would be God’s wasted attributes toward the debt of man’s sin. God’s grace says you don’t have to earn the forgiveness of sin and God’s mercy says you don’t have to live with the consequences either. The complete debt and consequence were forgiven and removed through the shed blood of Jesus, in whom God extends His faithful and loving hand without hesitancy or regret.
This gives a true understanding to the spiritual revelation of who we are in Christ and how we approach the loving Father in a time of need:
Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus knows exactly where you are and the struggles that you face right now, as He Himself was confronted with the same temptations, yet was victorious in them all. Because of this fact, we wake daily with the expectation that truly something good is going to happen to us today!
Mercy insists that God’s goodness be in constant pursuit of the believer and that no matter what forces the devil tries to assault us with, we have obtained in Christ the demand of mercy and given abundant grace.
When we understand God’s unshakable mercy it creates in us hearts that are bold as lions, never backing down or becoming complacent in living life, completely dominating the enemy and looking for God’s goodness daily.
Arise, my soul, arise;
Shake off thy guilty fears;
The bleeding Sacrifice in my behalf appears:
Before the throne my Surety stands,
My name is written on His hand.
My God is reconciled;
His pardoning voice I hear:
He owns me for His child;
I can no longer fear:
With confidence I now draw nigh,
And “Father, Abba, Father,” cry.
Charles Wesley
Exploits For Him,
Dustin and Mandy