But God

I heard two simple words during a workshop recently: “But God.” I have read them in Scripture many times, but this time they stayed with me. But God. Only two words, yet they can change the direction of an entire sentence and sometimes the way we see an entire situation.

This week may have given us a few situations we would rather not keep. Something did not work out. Someone disappointed us. We became tired, frustrated, uncertain, or simply overwhelmed by everything demanding our attention. And then Scripture gives us another way to read the story. But God.

Joseph knew something about those words. Looking back over betrayal, slavery, false accusation, imprisonment, and years he could never get back, he told his brothers: “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.”  Genesis 50:20

Joseph did not pretend the evil had not happened. He called it exactly what it was. But he also recognized that what people intended was not powerful enough to cancel what God could still do. That speaks to me. Sometimes faith is not saying, Everything is fine. Sometimes faith says, This is difficult. This hurt. I do not understand it. But God is still here.

The phrase appears more than 40 times in Scripture. “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart.”  Psalm 73:26. My strength may fail, but God. Plans may change, but God. The answer may not have come yet, but God. I may not know what happens next, but God. Paul even uses those words when describing God's love: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  Romans 5:8

Before we had everything together. Before we knew what to say. Before we had proven anything. But God loved us. And perhaps the greatest But God moment of all comes after the cross. Jesus had been crucified. To those watching, the story appeared finished.

Acts 13:29 describes Him being taken down from the tree and placed in a tomb. Then the next verse begins: “But God raised him from the dead.”  Acts 13:30. I love that. The tomb looked final. But God.

As I come to the end of this week, I am beginning to see those two words differently. But God does not mean every problem suddenly disappears. It reminds me that what I can see right now is not necessarily the whole story. There may still be another sentence. Another chapter. Another way God is working that I have not recognized yet.

So instead of ending this week only with what went wrong, what did not happen, or what I am still waiting for, I want to leave a little room after the comma. I don't know how this will work out… but God. I don't have all the answers… but God. I am carrying something I wish I could change… but God.

Maybe those are the two words I need to carry into the weekend. Not as a quick answer. Not as a way of dismissing what is difficult. Just as a quiet reminder that God is still present and the sentence may not be finished yet.

Pearl's Prayer:

Lord, thank You that what I see today is not always the end of the story. When I am tempted to stop at the problem, remind me to leave room for You. Help me carry these two words into whatever comes next: But God.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

I am The Vessel, God Is The Grace