Well, I was headed in that direction, and I got one of those "But God..." moments. You know what I mean, don't you? Those are some of my favorite verses in all the Bible, all those "But God" treasures. Just a couple to remind us: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (Joseph in Gen. 50:20) Or "But God demonstrated His love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) Or "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my potion forever." (Ps. 73:26) The Scriptures are replete with those wonderful nuggets, reminding us that things may look bad, "But God" is our Helper, Defender, Redeemer, Enabler, Sustainer and on and on.
Back to my point: God graciously intervened with a "but God" moment this morning. I sat down for my quiet time and began with a little devotional book by David Jeremiah, and it was if he had written the words just for me, just for today. God likes to do stuff like that, doesn't He? Here were the opening words: "Some days are harder than others, and perhaps this is one of them for you. Life is full of frustrations, and we can grow mighty weary with financial pressures, family problems, church misunderstandings, and workplace conflicts. It sometimes seems like we're losing our minds." O boy, David had me nailed. He went on: "But God isn't losing His! Remember that nothing revokes His faithfulness. His promises to us are irreversible, unalterable, firm and fixed. There are conditions to be met, of course, but outer circumstances must bend, in His time, to the purposes and promises of God in our lives."
O mercy, I might as well keep quoting it: "Dietrich Bonhoeffer [one of my very favorites] once said, 'God does not give us everything we need, but He does fulfill His promises... leading us along the best and straightest paths to Himself.' The Lord your God will bless you just as He has promised in His Word.
His promises are sure. His blessings are great. His grace is sufficient. His presence is near. His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations. Cheer up! It's not as bad as it seems." And then to top it all off (he had me at "Some days are harder than others"), Jeremiah quotes Corrie ten Boom: "Let God's promises shine on your problems."
So that's the whole devotion! I was so convicted of my utter failure to measure my little petty grievances against the Lord Almighty! Of my selfishness and refusal to take my troubles to my Savior and ask Him to forgive and cleanse and restore and renew me. As Nancy Leigh Demoss has said, "The fact that I feel bad isn't necessarily wrong or sinful. There may be circumstances that really did make me feel bad. What's sinful is when I let those emotions cause me to start to think things that aren't true, and I nurture those thoughts and then begin to act based on them." It's the Word of God, the Truth, that needs to sanctify our minds and emotions. And when, by an act of the will, even when we really don't feel like it, we turn to God and His Truth, rather than continuing to indulge in our pity-party, then He will be faithful to change us and encourage us and teach us and, praise God, forgive us and renew us.
Maybe this doesn't apply to anybody else in the world, but if you are having a tough day, be encouraged in God's presence, His promises, His power, His peace. I pray you will have a "but God" moment and when you do, give Him your thanks and give Him the glory. To our Almighty Lord who delights in declaring "But God" be all the glory.
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