God's 'BUT...'

'But...I'm no good at speaking,' Moses countered when God said He wanted to use him to rescue the Israelites.

'But...I am too young,' Jeremiah retorted when he heard God's call.

'But...I am the worst of all sinners,' noted Paul.

How many times do we offer 'Yes, but...' answers to God?

Have we ever considered that God has BUT's for us, too?

Take Samson's mother, for example. She is left unnamed in the Bible and mentioned only as the Wife of Manoah, who was unable to have children. But one day, ''the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, 'Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.' '' (Judges 13:3)

The very thing she was unable to do, God told her she would do. She was barren, but would conceive; she had not borne children, but would have a son.

How is that possible? As my husband says, 'Those are pretty big but's!'

I was considering what God's 'but' might look like today. What if an angel of the Lord appeared to my mother-in-law, suffering under the effects of her stroke, and said, 'Behold, your  memory is gone and you have lost the joy of living, but you shall make great memories and engage once again with your family and friends.'

Maybe the greater miracle would be me hearing from the Lord, 'Behold, you are not always patient with her and it's a daily struggle to crucify your flesh, but you will be filled with my love and I will use you to help bring the restoration I died to make possible.'

'You are...but...'

God doesn't ignore our reality or ignorantly view our life circumstances through rose-colored glasses. No, he acknowledges, 'You are...' Maybe you are barren, maybe you are poor, maybe you are depressed, maybe you are looking for direction, facing a closed door, needing forgiveness, wanting friends, out of a job. You are...BUT...

The question isn't who WE are, but who HE is. 

Image Credit: Gospel Alliance

The good news of this Advent season is that Emmanuel has come: GOD WITH US. He doesn't tower over us and laugh at our pain, mock our frustration, or remain silent to our questions. Instead, he became one of us  in order to make the impossible possible.

Sinners, granted eternal life.
Those separated from God, brought back into relationship with Him.
Men and women whose good works are but filthy rags, being dressed in robes of righteousness.


'You are, but...'

We have our excuses, yet God gently responds with, 'But I love you. But I'm providing for you.  But I'm guiding you and giving you strength. But I've called you. But I'm faithful. But you and your circumstances are significant to me - you matter.'



What is the 'but' you've been complaining to God about? And what do you think His BUT to you may be?