Beautiful People,

In each season of life, God has provided a song to guide my heart. Currently, I am enjoying Maverick City's song, God Will Work It Out. My favorite phrase is, "When my heart is full of doubt, feels like faith is running out, I've come too far to turn around, I know [that] God will work it out." Echoes of Romans 8:28 are evident in the song's message: "In all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." What a beautiful reminder of God's goodness. As I listened to this song and verse, I thought, "What if my definition of goodness is not God's definition of goodness?"

It's beautiful to reassure our hearts of God's goodness and His intervention; however, what if His intervention is perceived from an incongruent definition of goodness focused on the self and not on God? Saint Augustine describes the disposition of man's soul as "incurvatus in se," Latin for "turned/curved inward on oneself." Jeremiah 17:9 (KJV) claims, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?" If our heart, the driving force of our thoughts and actions, is curved inward on itself and deceitful, how can we trust our definition of good?

If God were to present His goodness to us, could we recognize it as such? None of this is good news; however, we need to know what ails us to heal and recover. Apart from God's Spirit, our natural hearts are governed by self-seeking goodness. Believe it or not, when I realized this and accepted it to be true about my heart, I was free from the anger and disappointment I had towards God when He didn't answer my prayers the way I wanted Him to. God is good. All He does is good; however, if my heart is curved in on itself, God's selfless goodness threatens my self-preservation. From this perspective, the things God ordains to discipline, grow, and mature me become arduous and profane. I curse God because He isn't working by my definition of goodness. So, where is the good news in this? It all starts with repentance. Repentance, that misused word, is beautiful.    

Repentance is the process of turning our inward heart back to God. This is only possible because of the kindness of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (we get no credit for this transformative process)! Repentance is allowing God to define goodness in our life from His perspective. Repentance is the refusal to not lean on our understanding but to trust God's good work in and through us. God will work things out for you; however, His definition of goodness will surprise you. Be astonished at God's surpassing goodness because it's better than ours, for all things work together for those who love Him. Love God and learn of His goodness.  

God Will Work It Out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URuIldVKk9U