”BUT GOD” BRINGS HOPE AND EFFECT CHANGES

But God” is an amazing set of words. These two words can change every single person’s life. Each word is only three letters long. The phrase is short, but the implications are huge. The path may look bleak, dim, and hopeless…BUT GOD changes everything…There is literally dozens of verses that contain “but God” in the old and New testaments. Each time I read a verse with these two words, they are followed with amazing Good news, most times a reversal of the phrase that precedes it. Even When I discuss or witness to friends, I hear some say, yeah, but it is like… I have too much baggage, too many sins to overcome or too much to be forgiven. If you speak back these two words to them it makes a whole lot of difference. “But God” often introduces the message of the gracious and compassionate intervention of God. It reassures me and others that “Holiness is not the way to Jesus but it is Jesus who is the way to holiness.” These two words are at the heart of the gospel. Whether from the mouth or pen of Moses, Abraham, Elijah, Amos, Apostle Paul or any other biblical author, but God is used in the process of unfolding the magnificent drama of God’s sovereign grace. Little wonder, Casey Lute wrote, “But God delights in helping the weak. And he delights in choosing those who have no ability to save themselves.” It is a pause that encourages me and reminds me of God’s righteous intervention in human affairs.

Few Examples of But God in the scripture:

Gen 50:20 – “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good in order to …save many people alive.”

Psalm 73:26 – “My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Psalm 49: 14-15 – “Their beauty shall be consumed in the grave … but God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave.”

Rom 5:7-8 – “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”

Rom 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Gen 20:3 – But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife.

 Gen 31:7 – And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.

 Pro 21:12 -The righteous man wisely considereth the house of the wicked: but God overthroweth the wicked for their wickedness.

  1Sa 23:14 – And David abode in the wilderness in strong holds, and remained in a mountain in the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God delivered him not into his hand.

  1Th 4:8 – He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

 Gal 6:14 – But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Galatians 3:20 – “Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.”

Acts 13:30 –  But God raised him from the dead,”

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 – “Eyes has not seen nor ear heard….the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His spirit.” These three words letter spelled “B-U-T” the adversative conjunction takes you to a point where bad turns to good because of God’s great love and amazing grace.

In Phil 2:27 Paul wrote to his friends at Philippi and told about Epaphroditus, who was so ill, so ill that it seemed there was no hope of his living, almost died. However Apostle Paul wrote adding “But God had mercy on him and not on him only but on me, to spare me sorrow upon sorrow.” Here despair gives way to hope and literally death to life. It gives elements of hope to a desperate condition. In another Example: Eph 2:4-5, Paul spoke to the Ephesians, the moral lives of the men and woman who eventually become saints of the Church were morally bankrupt, depraved and debauched. The largest single building in the city of Ephesus where Paul ministered was a brothel adjacent to the City hall. Families were not just hurting, they were fractured and divided; despondent and devalued – just like what obtains today around the world. Men practiced fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. Then Paul preached, “But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ (By grace, you are saved).

When you find yourself in desperate situation and condition, you should put the letter of God’s love against the background of dark and hopeless situation. Note: the darker the situation/condition, the brighter the message of hope. Hang the sign of the two words “But God” on every Doctor’s office, in the conference room of every Marriage counselor; put it in every Pastor’s office, on the wall of the entrance of every Church, then write it in your mind and refuse to accept defeat, being hopeful all is well. If you really believe that God exists and He can turn around any given set of condition/situation, therefore there is hope for your life. There is hope for that sick person you are praying for and for the un-repented soul out there. There is hope for those people going through difficulty. There is hope for that health situation that makes you wonder, if you will ever get better. There is hope for the prodigal children to return home. There is hope for the Church in her mission to save souls and rebuild lives with message of Jesus Saves – Reconciliation. But God isn’t a message of false hope. On the contrary, it is a fulcrum that documents the history /story of every convert in Christ.   Conversion: means you were headed down the wrong road of life but God turned your life around and you now walk in the newness of life – a changed man, a changed woman.

If there is no God, then there is no hope. Life simply doesn’t work without God. Most of those who claim they don’t believe in God, when they mistakenly strike their foot against the stone they shout my God. “But God” is the most powerful phrase in the bible. The reason I say it when I lack confidence to work. I say it when dismayed with poor health. I say it when Satan tries to remind me of my past folly. I say it when I face irreversible consequences of past sins and misdeeds. I say it when I fall into sin again and feel disqualified for the kingdom of God. I say it when situation becomes /seems impossible. I say it all the time…..because I know God will surely make a name for Himself.

Psalm 40:13-16 English Standard Version (ESV)

¹³ Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
¹⁴ Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
¹⁵ Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶ But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

No matter what is going on in your life; no matter what you must have done; no matter how bleak things seem, no matter that it is your entire fault. It doesn’t matter if nobody believes you, like the case of Joseph and Pontipher’s wife and Virgin Mary with the angel Gabriel’s message. It doesn’t matter if all you see is negative. It takes an intimate relationship with Jesus to achieve a happy and faithful life. But God is about overcoming the dead end in our lives by faith and trust in God. .It explains how allowing God to work in our impossible situations help us realize God’s purpose for us.

But God’ moments arrive in those seasons in life when everything seems to be against us. These times are recognized by the words: there is no way the marriage can be saved, the conflict simply can’t be resolved, the prognoses give zero hope, the church will never recover, and his ministry is over. But God being rich in mercy, but God showing his incomprehensible “love for us in that while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8) he said to us God ..  Noah was convinced he would die on the ark.  Yet, in Genesis 8 we read, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded.” Again, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers and essentially left for dead.  When they learn he is not only alive, but he now leads Egypt, they assume they will be put to death.  But, Genesis 50:20 recounts the words of Joseph to his brothers. “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” In Psalm 73:26 while David was going through trials, he exclaimed, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever

As a matter of fact, “we’ve all sinned – whether it is sex outside of marriage, a bitter heart, alcohol or drug abuse, cheating, or lying.  Maybe you’re at a place in your life where it just feels like things are falling apart.  Perhaps you’re portraying one thing on the outside and living something else on the inside. Maybe you are simply going through the motions of a life that’s not quite what you hoped it would be.  These moments drag us down – leaving us feeling hopeless and lost.  The BUT GOD moments are when God comes in and offers a new path and hope for our lives.  These moments occur when we are at are lowest, and turn our down-trodden worlds around for the better.  It is up to us to recognize and seize these moments when they occur and follow the renewed path God offers.

“Our God is compassionate. He sees and loves us for who we are, right where we are at. He knows what we face in our daily lives, and is close to us when we are brokenhearted. Nothing can shake His love for us. When we face impossible moments, or “glory up” experiences, we can write our own “but God” stories. And we should! As Christ followers, we are called to tell of the everyday miracles Christ weaves into our lives. You need something in your life to change. You need a BUT GOD… moment. When was the last time you experienced a “But God” moment?  And you remember how God came through in your difficult and desperate moment. Do not keep/hide your testimony……  “