“From the Heart” teaching by Drs. Rodney & Adonica Howard-Browne.

The Lord is good!

“Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!” Psalms 31:19 NKJV

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” Psalms 23:1-6 NKJV

Expect His goodness

“[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living! 14 Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.” Psalms 27:13-14 AMP

David makes this exclamation: “What, what would have become of me, had I not believed that I would see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living?” In other words, “Because I trusted in God’s goodness I experienced it. I couldn’t have made it without Him! You need to expect Him too and He will take care of you!” God wants us to know how much He loves us and He wants to show us how good He really is. We need to get a revelation of His goodness – we need to expect His goodness.

Express gratitude

“Blessed is the man You choose, And cause to approach You, That he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Of Your holy temple. 5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, And of the far-off seas.” Psalms 65:4-5 NKJV

Deuteronomy 28:47 (AMP) says that all these curses shall come upon you, “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness of [mind and] heart [in gratitude] for the abundance of all [with which He had blessed you].” Many of God’s people are not blessed – they are cursed – because they do not acknowledge God’s goodness toward them; they do not recognize that all their blessings have come from Him; they don’t appreciate what they already have and what He has already done; they are not satisfied with His goodness. They either take God for granted, or they think that He has not done enough for them, or they take the credit for the blessing. They walk on dangerous ground. God makes it very clear that He is the source of our blessing and it is vitally important that we serve Him with joy and gratitude.

Praise God for His goodness

“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.” Psalms 100:1-5 NKJV

“I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord And the praises of the Lord, According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us, And the great goodness toward the house of Israel, Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies, According to the multitude of His lovingkindness.” Isaiah 63:7 NKJV

Because He is good – we can be good

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-24 NKJV

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord.” Ephesians 5:8-11 NKJV

“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.” Romans 15:14 NKJV

The fruit of the Holy Spirit is also the character of God. The Holy Spirit imparts God’s character to us so that we can be like Him here on the earth. We are to demonstrate God’s goodness here to the world. We are to tell them and show them how good God is!