“But God”: Three Ways to Live a “But God” Life
If you are familiar with me at all, you know I live in the space of AND. I am often redirecting clients, and more so, myself, to consider the “ands” in our lives: the ability to hold two truths, multiple emotions, etc. While I still thrive in this space, God has reminded me that there is a time and place for “But” as well.
“But God”
This week my husband and I have had the incredible opportunity to love on the leaders of Aqua Viva International. This ministry provides water wells in villages of Honduras without clean water as well as provides support through Beloved trips (for women in the villages), medical missions, and more. Through teaching and leading them, I wondered if anything I was doing made sense, or if what I was communicating was applicable to their culture and way of life. And then the Holy Spirit reminded me, “But God.”
“But God” in scripture is often a turning point. It is a point where man meets his own limitations but encounters God’s divinity, where we see circumstances shifted and faith often ignited. This phrase is used roughly fifty times throughout Scripture. It is here we can see God do what only God can do. And it is here that surrender happens, “Not my will be done, but yours.” In surrender we experience God’s redemption, grace, mercy, strength, simply all of Him.
While I embraced this freedom, another “But God” was on the horizon. No sooner had I accepted that God’s will, his words, and truths would be communicated to the team with or without me, that another area of surrender arose. I received more rounds of declines for my book. Although God has steadily been working in me to reach a place of peace over whatever outcome happens, it is still sad to know that acceptance was not the result. Yet I can hold space for my disappointment and know “But God”: But God will redeem and refine the words he’s given me; But God will renew my strength; But God will fulfill his will.
Maybe your “But God” is surrounding tragedy, divorce, broken relationships, disappointment and more. While it is difficult to hold space for “But God,” there are ways to find voice to utter “But God.”
Three ways to live a “But God” life
1) Allowing for hope
Some of the first instances of “But God” we encounter in Scripture are surrounding hope. We see it with Noah and the flood (Genesis 8:1, NASB), Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 17:19, NASB), Joseph and his family (Genesis 50:2, NASB), and all the way to us: But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NASB).
When we allow ourselves to experience the hope God delivers, we can see beyond our circumstances. “But God" declares that His power is greater than our limitations, His promises are stronger than our fears, and His faithfulness will always have the final word. With hope we can learn to sleep in the storms and let the lightening be our guide. Every "but God" reminds us the story is never over. No matter how impossible our situation appears, God has always been weaving hope into the lives of His people—and He is still writing it into ours.
2) Practicing Surrender
As humans, we often feel better when we have control of our lives and circumstances. It provides a sense of safety for us. However, the tighter we hold onto whatever (i.e. lives, circumstances, relationships, etc.), the less we experience the freedom God has called us to experience.
Imagine Job and David as they wrestled with surrender of their possessions and lives (Job 34:5; Psalm 49:15). Job was comfortable and had all he needed: family, land, cattle, and more and lost it all. David was a “man after God’s own heart” yet found himself hunted at times as well as surrounded by the anguish of his own makings. Even then, both conveyed, “But God.”
We may like the life we have built, the desires of our hearts, the blessings God has showered on us. And while these are things God has given us to enjoy, we must hold them with open hands. Psalm 37:4-7 (TPT) reminds us:
Find your delight and true pleasure in Yahweh,
And he will give you what you desire the most.
Give God the right to direct your life,
and as you trust him along the way,
you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!
He will appear as your righteousness,
as sure as the dawning of a new day.
He will manifest as your justice,
as sure and strong as the noonday sun.
Quiet your heart in his presence
And wait patiently for Yahweh.
Whatever God has placed within us, around us, he has called us to enjoy; however, note that we are to “Give God the right to direct your life…and trust him along the way” and then we will see “he pulled off perfectly.” We can only do this as we surrender all things to God and allow his will to be perfected in and through us.
3) Receiving Redemption
In our humanity, it is hard to see beyond our “right nows.” We only know the pain, disappointment, and sorrow that consumes us right now. The higher ways of God or how he is working all things together for our good appear blocked from our view. Redemption seems to be for those who work harder, have more faith, or have some line to God that we do not know about.
Yet Scripture reminds us that redemption has never depended on our ability to see it. Even when we cannot understand what God is doing, we can proclaim with David, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26, NASB). Likewise, Paul writes, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4–5, NASB).
The greatest act of redemption came when we had nothing to offer God but our need. He did not wait until we were stronger, wiser, or more faithful before He acted on our behalf. Because He has already redeemed our souls through Christ, we can trust Him to continue His redeeming work in every part of our lives: disappointments, grief, soul wounds, relationships, etc. It is in these moments we can experience the goodness of God. We may not yet understand the path we are walking, but we can know the goodness of God is not determined by what we can see today. His redemption is always moving our story toward His greater purpose, even when we cannot yet recognize it.
Final Thoughts
We are not walking alone in whatever is before us. We are sustained by a heavenly Father who has “kept count of my troubles; put my tears in your bottle” (Psalm 56:8). But God in His wisdom, providence, and sovereignty knows what we need not only for this moment but for eternity. As we embrace hope, practice surrender, and receive His redemption, may we become people who live a "But God" life. A life that rests in the peace of His presence rather than the certainty of our circumstances. A life that finds refuge beneath His care, declaring with confidence, “In You my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of Your wings I will take refuge” (Psalm 57:1, NASB). There, under the shelter of His love, we discover that every “but God” is an invitation to trust the One who is faithfully writing a greater story than we could ever imagine.