Those are two of the most wonderful words in the Bible, “But God”.
I was reading in Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians 2:1-10:
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
The chapter starts by pointing out the hopelessness of our situation, lost in our sins, living our selfish flesh pleasing existence, completely at the mercy of this world, and then verse 4 shines a ray of brilliant sunshine on that desolate depression situation starting with the words “But God…”.
I’m reminded of the song:
They bound the hands of Jesus in the garden where He prayed;
They led Him thro’ the streets in shame.
They spat upon the Savior so pure and free from sin;
They said, “Crucify Him; He’s to blame.
He could have called ten thousand angels
To destroy the world and set Him free.
He could have called ten thousand angels,
But He died alone, for you and me.
Oh what an amazing debt we owe to God. He could have said; “Forget it – these people are just a waste of My time.” But the amazing thing is – in spite of our sin, our selfishness, our pride, and our utter hopelessness – God loved us so much He sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die for us! All we have to do is simply trust in Him!
Such a great reminder of the Amazing Grace of Almighty God – “….But God…”. The situation was hopeless – until HE stepped in. Now there is hope, peace, and joy beyond our ability to comprehend.
How can we not love Him so much that we just want to know Him more and more each day?