God Can Redeem Your Pain w/ Rob Roozeboom

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Have you ever felt that your dreams were shattered beyond repair? Join us on the Coffee and Bible Time podcast as we welcome Rob Roozeboom, whose life story will show you how to find hope amidst broken dreams.

Diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at a young age, Rob faced emotional turmoil, including anger, depression, and feelings of punishment. Yet, through his faith and biblical teachings, Rob transformed his weakness into strength and discovered a renewed purpose. His journey is not just about overcoming adversity—it's about turning pain into a beacon of hope for others.

In a pivotal moment at a DC Talk concert, Rob experienced a profound spiritual awakening that changed the trajectory of his life. He shares how surrendering to Christ helped him understand the spiritual battles we all face and the power of love and faith in overcoming bitterness. Emphasizing community support and persistent prayer, Rob's story illustrates the tangible impact of faith in overcoming life's toughest challenges and spreading hope to others.

We also explore the inspirational journey of Rise Ministries, from its early beginnings to successful ventures like RiseFest Music Festival. Wrapping up, we dive into the heartfelt topic of finding God in brokenness. Tune in for an episode filled with encouragement and insights into thriving in Christian living, no matter the struggles you face.

Rob's Favorites & Recommended Resources:
Book: Broken Still Chosen
Website: riseministries.com
IG: @robrise
IG: @rise_ministries
Favorite App/Website: The Bible Recap

Transcript

Ellen Krause: 0:04

At the Coffee and Bible Time podcast. Our goal is to help you delight in God's Word and thrive in Christian living. Each week, we talk to subject matter experts who broaden your biblical understanding, encourage you in hard times and provide life-building tips to enhance your Christian walk. We are so glad you have joined us. Welcome back to the Coffee and Bible Time podcast. This is Ellen, your host.

Ellen Krause: 0:33

Have you ever experienced the death of a dream? If so, you're not alone. The truth today is that we're all broken, whether that's mentally, physically, relationally or emotionally. Each of us at some point experiences pain, grief and hopelessness, which often encompasses the death of a dream. Our guest today is Rob Rouseboom. His journey with muscular dystrophy starting at age shows how such struggles that destroy our dreams can leave us feeling different and forgotten. It's easy to question our existence and even rebel against God during these dark times, but Rob's story also shows a way out. He found hope and purpose by turning to God despite his challenges. Through biblical teachings, he learned how to process his feelings, find strength in his weakness and dream new dreams. This transformation is possible for all of us, so stay tuned as we discuss how to process feelings of insecurity and disappointment and embrace the strength that is available through Jesus during our weakest moments.

Ellen Krause: 1:50

Rob is the author of the new book Broken Still Chosen and is the founder and president of Rise Ministries and Rise Fest, which is a large Christian music festival held annually in Northwest Iowa. He is host of the popular podcast Enjoying the Journey. He also produced the online video series Stories of Strength. Rob is a sought-after speaker and has been featured multiple times on the national Jerry Lewis MDA telephone. He and his family live in Sheldon, Iowa. Please welcome Rob. Rob, thank you so much for joining us today. We appreciate you being here. You know the fact that you are so vulnerable. With your story over the years I'm sure has helped so many people. Why don't we just start by you telling us a little bit about your story and how you realized that you were not only physically broken but spiritually broken as well?

Rob Roozeboom: 2:56

Sure, yes. Thank you so much for the invite. Today it starts when I was five. My sister I have a two and a half year older sister, two and a half year younger brother I'm sandwiched in between. She had walked on her toes and my parents got a little nervous about it. So we ended up at the University of Iowa doing some testing, found out that she was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy At the time it was Becker and then I also was diagnosed with it. My younger brother was not. So two out of three and at five.

Rob Roozeboom: 3:29

I've said so many times before, it didn't mean anything to me. I grew up on a farm in central Iowa. I spent every waking moment with my dad. I climbed fences, climbed on tractors, I rode my bike, I swang, swang, I swung, whatever. I went on a swing and went swimming, all of it. Just it didn't really bother me at all. I didn't know why the doctors were running tests on me.

Rob Roozeboom: 3:55

Fast forward to sixth grade. My dad has now left the farm he fell at when I was nine years old, God calling him to ministry. I tried to argue with him on that deal and say he picked up the wrong phone, that that phone was not for him, because I always make the joke that I heard my dad talk to hogs in the hog lot and you're not supposed to talk that way as a pastor. So I was like I don't think you're supposed to be a pastor, but anyway, at nine he does answer the call God laid on his heart. We moved to Holland, Michigan, so I become a city kid. I'm no longer a farm kid. Sports becomes my next greatest love. Farming was my first and that was now gone. So sports became my next greatest love, and I grew up in the Michael Jordan era, where you can be cut and still become the greatest. You work hard, you go after it.

Rob Roozeboom: 4:49

What I didn't understand is what I was actually up against, and that is a disease that is progressive. Currently there isn't a cure, there's not a pill, there's not an exercise I can do to make it go away, and so the pull myself up by my bootstraps, try really hard, beat this. I just didn't understand how progressive it really was. So sixth grade is when it started to show itself a little bit in the mile. I talk about it in the book and if you want to hear more of that story, just pick up, pick up. Broken, still Chosen. But yeah, that's when I realized wait a second, what is going on? I mean I'm giving it everything I got inside of me and it's not working out. And so I was in sports.

Rob Roozeboom: 5:31

I became very angry, I became very depressed because here I am fighting a disease I don't even understand, and then I'm watching my brother come up behind me with no disease at all. In sports he's good at, and so he's. I describe him as tall, dark and handsome and athletic and smart. I'm like God. Really I couldn't get anything out of the equation and so I kind of had that mentality for a long time and became very angry.

Rob Roozeboom: 5:59

My dad, when he became a pastor, obviously was giving messages of God is a God of love and he created you, he knit you together in your mother's womb, he ordained the days for you. That was the wrong thing to say to me. That just lit a fire inside of me of anger, bitterness, resentment, confusion, trying to figure out what he did this, why, I mean, was it an experiment one day and it all went wrong? Or was it because I'm a bad kid and I'm being punished? I wrestled with this idea of punishment, honestly, until six months ago, maybe seven, even though I've run a ministry for 23 years and I love Jesus and promote Jesus and want to point people to Jesus. The idea that every time something bad happened in my life I thought I was being punished that's why I lose walking or I lose standing or I lose my independence is because I'm being punished, and so I really really really had to wrestle through that, and just that's why the book is called when you Feel Unloved, unseen and Forgotten.

Rob Roozeboom: 7:07

I have wrestled with those words most of my life and it's not I tell people, it's not from the public all the time. I mean I can feel forgotten if I don't get the right hotel room and I'm frustrated and I got to fight with them to get a roll-in shower room so I can shower. I mean just a basic need. Or I want to eat at a restaurant but I can't get there because it's built on stilts and they haven't fixed the elevator in two years. Yeah, I can feel a little unloved and unseen in those moments. But when I say feeling unloved, unseen and forgotten, I'm talking about by Almighty God. That is who I have wrestled with for so long on those words because of this disease. So that brought me into the despair when I was a teenager. I didn't even want to live anymore. I was so angry, so broken, could not figure out why I was walking this road. What purpose could come out of. It was what kept me down for a very long time.

Ellen Krause: 8:12

And Rob, I can't imagine you know you do such an excellent job in the book of really laying out how you felt and you were so honest and I think anyone who has experienced any kind of loss of a dream like that would be feeling very much the same thing so I could really resonate with your authentic thoughts. You talk about how you went to a Christian event and it was there that you sort of realized I'm also spiritually broken. Tell us about that experience.

Rob Roozeboom: 8:57

So that's what happened with me is I got so angry at God? It was never that I didn't believe in God. It wasn't like I was an atheist, it was that I wanted nothing to do with him, I was just mad at God. It was never that I didn't believe in God.

Rob Roozeboom: 9:09

It would be similar to getting mad at your mom and dad or a brother or sister. You just don't want to be in their presence, you don't want to talk to them, you don't want to see them. That's where I was most of my teenage years. I was like God, if you're going to do this to me, I'm out of here. And so I end up at this event called DC 91. It's in DC 1991. I think I'm between my freshman and high school year. In high school my parents are like you're going with the church, I'm not, that's stupid. And they're like you're going. And I was like, well, there'll probably be girls on the trip. All right, I'm in. So I end up on this on this charter bus for 28 hours out of the Midwest to DC 91.

Rob Roozeboom: 9:58

And I remember one night where I believe DC Talk is playing, and I think I think it was Ken Davis that gave the gospel that night. And I remember sitting in this, in this seat, in a stadium or an arena, and, yes, my heart was broken. I was lost inside no-transcript, agonizing, aching for something. And I remember the gospel being given that night. And I remember looking down the road and I hate to admit this but I think I admitted in the book that I looked down the road and I saw what I called the church dorks sitting there and nobody got up and I thought, well, if they're not getting up, I'm not getting up and I could walk at the time. And the next thing I know I'm walking down these steps of the arena and I'm thinking time.

Rob Roozeboom: 10:54

And the next thing I know I'm walking down these steps of the arena and I'm thinking, huh, they're not coming. What am I doing? And they said come down front. If you, you know you're a sinner, you want to find hope, et cetera. The prayer. So I go down and they said pray this with me. I pray it with them at the front of the stage. There's hundreds, if not thousands, of people there. And then I thought, okay, I can go back to my seat. That's all I got to do. Then they go. We'd like you to go into a ballroom and pray with somebody. I'm like you lied to me. You told me all I had to do was come down. Now I got to go into a ballroom. So I go in this ballroom and the first person I see no joke is my volunteer youth leader and she looks at me, she comes over to me and she goes.

Rob Roozeboom: 11:35

Rob, we have been praying for this day for a long time and I was still a smart aleck at the time and I said I never asked you to. I was still hurting. Yes, I had accepted Christ, but I had a long road to figure out what that really meant and it was a very special time. I didn't realize the impact of it until now, later, as I get to describe it and talk about it. But yeah, they had been praying and not giving up on me, even though they saw me walk through the hurt, the heartache, the brokenness. I guess the best word would be hopelessness.

Rob Roozeboom: 12:14

They literally got to see it firsthand and then experience it when God called me down to surrender my heart.

Ellen Krause: 13:17

It's such a beautiful, beautiful example of how God just patiently waits for us and doesn't give up on us. You mentioned that, based on Ephesians 6:1 6.12, you say that the enemy is hell-bent on preventing us from becoming the people the Father has created us to be. Why is it so important that we understand what we're actually battling here and how can wrestling with God increase our faith?

Rob Roozeboom: 14:00

That's such a great question and it's crazy that you bring it up now. We just got done with our large festival, which you described in the opening, and we were really serious about what we went after this year. We found out a hundred years ago that the largest gathering here in Northwest Iowa, where I live, was the KKK and that was in 1924. So we were asking God for 25,0001 festival goers because they had set the record at 25,000 for this festival about three weeks ago and we landed at 23,790 or something just shy of or 970, just short of 24,000. And I remember talking about the number with people and they're like Robert, you disappointed. Yes and no, I'm not sure it was ever about the number I said what I really think it was about was taking background. It was time to take background from the enemy, and not just because the KKK marched our streets a hundred years ago. But what have we surrendered in our own hearts? In our own hearts? And as I thought about this and I saw how beautiful the festival went and I heard from people and what God did and what God did in people's lives and how they were like no more, I don't want to surrender anymore. And I saw this beautiful picture on the grounds from the front of house and we have a walkway so people can get through the crowd. The front of house and we have a walkway so people can get through the crowd. Well, I saw somebody take a drone photo of it when the festival was all over, even though it was with the crowd. Well, that walkway positioned it into a cross. So when I looked at the picture, we got to see a cross and we had asked God to take back ground from the enemy.

Rob Roozeboom: 15:47

So if we go back to that verse and we talk about how he is hell bent on keeping us from a relationship with God, so when I was a teenager and broken, he could whisper in my ear you're nothing, you're nobody, nobody will ever love. You See, look, God's punishing you. Look, god doesn't love. You See what's happening. Well, that keeps me angry at God and pushes me away. Well, it kept me I'm not saying everybody, but it kept me away from God and and pushing where I would build a brick wall in my heart, where I didn't want him in.

Rob Roozeboom: 16:17

And the more that I look at it and after coming off of that festival, so we, we, we see the cross etched out from people just walking the pattern. We didn't even set it up that way. We asked God to take back that ground and since then it feels like it has just been a war in Northwest Iowa. We've had flooding, unprecedented flooding, damage, heartache, brokenness, people losing their homes. And, when you think about it, if we are serious about pointing people to Jesus and the consequence of not knowing Jesus is hell, separation from God, eternal damnation and punishment how angry do you really think the enemy is when we surrender our hearts to Christ and start saying with a megaphone there is hope, you are seen, you are loved, there is purpose in your life? I think, even after writing that book and you bringing that back to my attention, I think I'm starting to get a different understanding of how angry and deceitful and hateful and evil the enemy really is.

Ellen Krause: 17:28

Such a cool story about what you experienced there this year in the drone shot and just how God clearly was at work at that event. As you have evolved in your relationship with God over the years, what was it that sort of helped move you through that? And for someone who is listening today and is experiencing sort of that bitterness, anger, how do you move on from that?

Rob Roozeboom: 18:06

The number one question I would ask them is who is speaking into your life? Is it a negative person? Is it somebody that's angry at God already? Because if they're speaking into your life, it is not going to help you at all. It's not going to move you away from that, it'll just cause more bitterness.

Rob Roozeboom: 18:21

When my world started to change, I kept asking God why am I here? What do you want from me? World started to change. I kept asking God why am I here? What do you want from me? God gave me this beautiful, hundred and nothing.

Rob Roozeboom: 18:36

Five foot two, blonde hair, sassy woman that has become my wife. And you know we're going on 27 years of marriage. And she started to say to me when we first were dating Rob, it doesn't matter what you do, it matters who you are. And at first I'm like, oh yeah, easy for you to say. But then I started to watch her love me like Jesus, no strings attached, and I thought what is wrong with you? Why would you ever step into this battle? You don't have to. You don't have to. And she has for almost 27 years. And that love, don't get me wrong. We still argue, we're a couple, right, but it started to take the scales off of my heart in a way I didn't see coming. And then you add that to a community of believers that speak into my heart, of believers that speak into my heart. This book would not exist if a community of believers didn't speak into my life.

Rob Roozeboom: 19:33

Because I was told you can't write. I was told you're terrible at the English language. When I was in high school, I was told. I was told, I was told. And all of a sudden I've got strangers in this leadership group with me going Rob, we want to hear more of your perspective. You're teaching us. I'm like, no, no, I'm not teaching you anything. You guys are way ahead of me in life and more successful and all this stuff.

Rob Roozeboom: 19:58

Well, that really started to resonate over a year. I started thinking why would they share this? They gain absolutely nothing from blowing smoke up my shorts. I mean there's no reason to do it. They don't gain anything from it. And so all of a sudden I'm like maybe they're not lying to me. Huh, maybe God is using my life, life, maybe I should start listening to that a little bit more and less about. You're worthless. Nobody will ever love you. God is punishing you too. Yeah, life is hard it is for all of us but God uses our pain to shine the light of Christ and bring light into dark places. I mean, john talks about that and all of a sudden, hmm, okay, I need to start listening to the still small voice rather than the roaring lion that wants to kill, steal and destroy. And so I ask people all the time who is speaking into your life?

Ellen Krause: 21:07

Who is speaking into your life? That is a really, really great question. I'm going to remember that because I think you've hit it head on, because when you do surround yourself with other believers that can encourage you and remind you who are rooted in God's word, that really can have a tremendous impact. And, Rob, you are a really good writer because as I was reading I found myself laughing so many times. Despite you're talking about so many hard things, you have a great sense of humor and that really makes the book really enjoyable to read Heartwarming for sure.

Rob Roozeboom: 21:51

For sure. Well, and Kathy who helped me write it, Kathy Groom, she helped me find the voice and I'm just so grateful. I am so glad you said that, because my prayer has been with the book Number one. It points you to Jesus. Number two it works in your feelings.

Ellen Krause: 22:08

You laugh, maybe shed a tear, and yeah, on what you could have imagined and how do you think this impacts the people who are going to read this book?

Rob Roozeboom: 22:34

What's so interesting to me and you said it at the beginning the vulnerability. I guess I've never looked at it that way. I've just always figured a spade's a spade, call it like it is Early on when I started Rise 23 years ago churches were not okay with that.

Rob Roozeboom: 22:54

I mean, I think I was a little too real and so me coming in to speak maybe made them uncomfortable, I don't know, but at the end of the day, this is what it is. I mean, why sugarcoat it? That doesn't do any good for any of us. So that has been something. At this time, almost 23 years later, where the country and the world is at, and all the brokenness that we hear and see, and all the brokenness that we hear and see, to hear the word vulnerability, yeah, has touched me deeply, and it goes deeper than just vulnerability.

Rob Roozeboom: 23:39

What God has taught me over the last probably three years. I've lost almost all of my own independence, which just annoys me unbelievably. However, because of the vulnerability needing that and I'm not just talking stories in the book, I'm talking full on everyday vulnerability people helping me, dress, shower, everything I have learned this scripture that I've read over and over and over and over but just never really meant a lot to me that when I am weak, he is strong. What I have come to learn is that if I'm willing to be vulnerable, if I'm willing to be weak and allow Christ to shine through that weakness, that's when I'm actually strong and it starts to relate to people, because they have their own vulnerability and if they are willing to allow themselves to be weak where they need to be and Christ shine through, that I think it speaks volumes.

Ellen Krause: 24:42

It truly, truly does. I think a lot of people do wear masks. I found that in myself, that that's something. Over the years, I've had to learn to rip off the masks and be vulnerable, because until you do that, god can't do his work. And so, yeah, I really applaud you for that and thank you, and you can already see the impact that it's having. Why don't you tell the people that are listening a little bit about your ministry, Rise Ministries, and what your role is there and how people can learn more about it?

Rob Roozeboom: 25:27

Absolutely so. When I was in college I wanted nothing to do with ministry or be a pastor like my dad or anything, and God got a hold of my heart in Bible classes. So I'm about ready to graduate, I end up in an internship with ministry and I feel God wrestling with me for about two years I think it was Go tell your story. Nope, I don't want to go tell my story. I don't want people to know I screwed up and that I don't measure up. And well, he wins the argument. We launched Rise Ministries Instead of going to graduation. I actually went to a conference with Ken Davis and launched Rise. It started with me speaking, Ken Davis and and launched Rise. It started with me speaking. Then it went to a I think it was a 60 second food for thought radio program for about a decade that aired over stations across the country. Then we did a magazine for a short time called Impact Magazine for teenagers, but realized yeah, they don't really read magazines, so we stopped doing that. And then we started a missions program it's called Rise on the Road for about 10 years where we took young people both domestically and internationally on mission trips. And then in about 2005, I believe it was. Somebody approached me about doing a Christian music festival, which I had no clue, no experience, nothing. I didn't want to do it. I told him no, I didn't win. We started a festival and we have been doing it since 2005. We just came off the largest festival we've ever had, with 23,970 people over two days in a community of 5,500 people.

Rob Roozeboom: 27:06

I get the opportunity Well now, I never thought I'd be an author. I get to share this book, which is exciting. We do little events called Rise with Robin Friends, where we take them to cities and I bring artists, friends of ours, and it's a stripped down night. We call it an acoustic singer songwriter night, so it's a night of hope through storytelling music. They tell the stories behind the songs. I get to give a message. We have a beautiful time together. We started filming our Christmas program and Good Friday programs, so we do that as well. We film them, we put them out around the region and online YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, I believe and then I get the opportunity to travel and speak, similar to what's in the book, and I absolutely love it.

Rob Roozeboom: 27:57

I also sit on the DD Council for the state of Iowa. It's the Developmental Disability Council just trying to help in that world as much as I can. And then I sit on the CFA Christian Festival Association board so I get to be around other festivals, get to help with other events. But really our desire is to reach and inspire every community I know that sounds big and audacious through the transforming hope in Jesus. And then I love to give people experiences that they may not get on their own to see the work of Christ. And so sometimes that's at the festival, sometimes that's a night of hope, sometimes it's a young guy traveling with me. God has been raising up young men to be my personal assistants. It's crazy. That's a whole nother conversation someday, but it's crazy. But that really rounds out Rise Ministries. We've got Rise Fest, rise with Rob and Friends Speaking Good Friday, Christmas and just trying to point people to Jesus.

Ellen Krause: 29:07

Christmas and just trying to point people to Jesus. That's so cool. It's like you've got a Jesus revolution starting in the northwest corner of Iowa and we can just pray that it has a ripple effect all across the United States in every direction. That would be awesome, all across the United States in every direction.

Rob Roozeboom: 29:27

That would be awesome.

Ellen Krause: 29:28

So tell our listeners where they can find out more information about you and the ministry.

Rob Roozeboom: 29:41

Absolutely yeah, you can go to riseministriescom. You can also go to the Rise Ministries Facebook page or my personal one, Rob Roozeboom or whatever it is and that's the name. And then Rob Rise is me more personal on Instagram, or Rise Ministries on Instagram, learning just about us reels etc.

Ellen Krause: 29:58

Excellent. Okay, we will include all of those links in our show notes. So if you're driving, no worries, check out the show notes Before we go. Rob, I need to ask you some of our favorite Bible study tool questions here that listeners want to know what Bible is your go-to Bible and what translation is it?

Rob Roozeboom: 30:19

I really, really, really enjoy the New Living Translation. I find myself using that over and over. Now you're going to find it strange. I have the NIV study Bible on my desk, but when I go out to speak, I really like the New Living Translation.

Ellen Krause: 30:35

I do, too. I do. I like that as well. Okay, awesome. Do you have anything, any favorite journaling supplies or anything that you'd like to use to enhance your Bible study experience?

Rob Roozeboom: 30:50

When I'm studying that way, I mean, to be honest, I use Google a lot and highlighters. When I'm in my Bible, I like to highlight, I like to write some notes, I like to ink in certain places just to remember things when I'm flipping back through it. But when I'm going into a deeper study, I will use the Google tool quite a bit just to see, okay, what's going on in this context and are they right, are they not right? And then I have this wonderful resource my dad, who is a retired pastor and then some pastor friends that I also get to use.

Ellen Krause: 31:28

Yes Ooh, excellent Great mentors there who are so wise. It's awesome that you have connections to those people. Well, lastly, do you have a favorite app or website for Bible study tools?

Rob Roozeboom: 31:44

I do. I use the YouVersion Bible app and I use the Bible Recap almost every well, I have for three years, almost now two and a half years. It just walks you through the Bible. It's called the Bible Recap. Really enjoy that one.

Ellen Krause: 31:57

Fantastic. Okay, yes, that's an excellent source and, again, we will make sure we include all your favorites here linked in our show notes. Include all your favorites here linked in our show notes. Rob, it's just been such a joy to speak with you today. Thank you so much for your encouragement to everyone who is listening to this. Maybe they're grieving broken dreams, but just reminding us to look for God in the brokenness.

Rob Roozeboom: 32:25

He's there, absolutely. Thank you so much.

Ellen Krause: 32:36

All right and for our listeners, be sure and get a copy of Rob's book Broken Still Chosen. We only scratched the surface here today. It's an awesome read. We will provide a link in the show notes as well. Well, thank you so much for listening to the Coffee and Bible Time podcast. We would love it if you would leave a review. That will help Keep our show going. We appreciate you so much.