Jessica Levy Books

How would you define the word good? On most days, I define it like this: chocolate!

Chocolate is very good. I am well aware of the hazards of chocolate: weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, acne. But it’s so good! It has health benefits as well, but let’s be honest. Nobody is eating chocolate for the health benefits – we eat it because it’s….that’s right…good!

Maybe if more things were as good, our overall physical health would improve. If eggplant was good, maybe my diet would be going better. (I know some people like eggplant, but we all have something, right?). The main problem with the messages we receive through our flesh filter about the world is that we define good mostly in the following terms:

It makes us feel good: tingly, satiated, less grumpy maybe (I’m still talking about chocolate here)

It makes us comfortable

It makes us happy

It makes life easier

Why is this a problem? That life sounds pretty good to me! Truthfully, there is nothing wrong with comfort, happiness, ease, and tingly feelings, but when we call only these things good, our focus can narrow away from what is actually good for us. Such is the case with chocolate and eggplant. (I’m not going to eat eggplant, but I do eat some things I don’t like because they are good for me, like oatmeal).

A narrow focus can cause us to miss a lot. Our narrow definition of good often leads to a lack of joy, a lack of peace, and a lack of trust. Take, for instance, someone who just got a new job. They had been hoping for it, praying for it, and there it is, handed to them. That feels good. It makes the person feel happy, it feels like it was easy, like God was working all things out for the good!

And we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; who are called according to his purpose.

ROMANS 8:28

Seems like a promise worth holding onto, right? And it is! The person who got the new job would certainly agree that God is working out the things in life for good. They would probably say, “Praise God!” and so would most others who heard the good news!

What, then, of the other six people who prepared for, interviewed for, prayed for, and hoped for the same job? Would they call it good? Would they “Praise God” and run around telling others? Probably not, but there’s the problem with the narrow focus.

When Job lost everything: his livestock, his staff, his children, and even his comfort, his wife challenged him to abandon his integrity, curse God, and die. It was a bit harsh, even for those times. But Job responded, “Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?” (2:10). He, too, defined good in terms of comfort and ease, but his point was sound: this is all in God’s hands!

Our faulty definition may result from the fact that our focus also narrows on the beginning of Romans 8:28, on the part that says things will work out for good, but we often neglect the part about being called to his purpose. When you love God and cling to the calling he has placed on your life for his purpose, your definition of good broadens. You begin to realize your definition doesn’t even really matter. Only God determines the definition of good. That even if what you are experiencing doesn’t feel good or easy or comfortable, it can still very well be good for you. More importantly, it may still very well be good for his purpose to which you are called.

That right there seems worthy of a “Praise God!”