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"Good morning optimism / Good morning to my faith / Good morning to the beginning of a brand new day / I know that God's will be done / So I lay down my pain and I'm moving on / I know that God's will be done / So it's a good morning after all" —from "Good Mourning."

India.Arie is heartbroken, and she wants the whole world to know it. Not only is her latest, Testimony: Vol. 1, Life & Relationship, essentially a breakup album through and through. It may very well be the first-ever inspirational breakup album.

Other breakup albums—Bob Dylan's Blood On the Tracks, The Cure's Disintegration, and, more recently, ahem, Nick Lachey's What's Left of Me—generally wallow in regret, self-pity and remorseful sentiments toward the other party. But not Testimony, a breakup album marked by faith, resolve, closure, forgiveness and new beginnings.

Interestingly enough, it's a theme that apparently resonated with many. Testimony, which has since gone gold, was the first album by a female Motown artist to sit atop the Billboard 200 sales chart since Diana Ross did in 1972. Motown President Sylvia Rhone has called India.Arie "one of our culture's most uplifting and empowering artists," while The Daily Star said that "with Testimony, the world will be a better place."

While a few hip-hop and neo-soul proponents have subtly championed spirituality and positivity in their music—Common, Talib Kweli and Jill Scott come to mind—Testimony outdoes them all in terms of religious frankness. From the opening strains of the brief intro "Loving" to the breathtaking hidden track "This Too Shall Pass," it's a testament to India.Arie's strong spiritual pulse.

But that's nothing new. Her previous albums, Acoustic Soul and Voyage to India, brimmed with clear-cut declarations of faith, but none as bold as those on Testimony.

"Loving" quotes the ubiquitous "Serenity Prayer" verbatim. It's unclear how the popular Alcoholics Anonymous maxim fits into the framework of relationships, but India.Arie could be making a case for addiction to toxic affection.

Whatever the case, the two songs that most clearly reference her breakup are the haunting "These Eyes" ("Our life is the greatest story never told") and the bittersweet "The Heart of the Matter," a Don Henley cover: "I want to be happily ever after/And my heart is so shattered/But I know it's about forgiveness … even if you don't love me anymore."

From there on, it's all about the "ever after" and the catharsis needed to get there. In the acoustic slow-burner "Good Mourning" (excerpted above), India.Arie uses a play on words to equate her grief to that fateful morning of the break-up: "I prayed for God's will to be done/The very next day you were gone … Good morning optimism, good morning to my faith."

On the bouncy "There's Hope," she continues on her mood upswing, but this time in a more general sense: "It ain't about the size of your car/It's about the size of the faith in your heart/There's hope/It doesn't cost a thing to smile/You don't have to pay to laugh/You better thank God for that."

The zenith of her renewed outlook comes during the hidden gem "This Too Shall Pass," a chilling, rousing number where she comes to terms with her newfound singleness: "I pray for quiet in my head/That I can hear clearly what God says/But then I hear a whisper that this too shall pass/I hear the angels whisper that this too shall pass/My ancestors whisper that this day will one day be the past/So I walk in faith that this too shall pass."

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