I woke up in the ICU trapped by tubes and wires coming out of my mouth and limbs. My arms were strapped down to the bed. I couldn’t process what was happening. Someone somewhere had my days old baby. Where was he? I struggled against the straps, but my husband leaned down over me to calm me.
A few days after my son was born I went to urgent care with what I thought was a bad stomach bug. My vitals were all over the place, so they immediately put me into an ambulance and rushed me to Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies. It didn’t take long for them to figure out I had septicemia and prepared me for emergency surgery to clean the infection out of my vital organs.
After life saving surgery and a blood transfusion, I lay in the ICU searching for clarity. Where was I? Where was my baby? Why can’t I talk?
When life seems to be overwhelming, it’s hard to see where God is in it all. This is why we turn to the Bible in our struggle. So many times, the Word continues God’s love story to us with the phrase, “But God.”
“But God” either brings blessing to those who worship him or curse those who are against him.
The first “but God” we see in the Word is Genesis 3:3 when it says, “But God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” The verse foreshadows the greatest curse of all time. On the other hand, the next time we see “but God,” is when Noah was in the ark waiting for the flood to subside. Genesis 8:1 says, “But God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. And God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided.” God blessed Noah for his obedience. He stood by his word, saved Noah’s family and put him in charge of the new land.
There are so many other examples. For instance:
But God blessed Abraham and Sarah’s son Isaac despite the mistake they made with Hagar (Genesis 21:12).
But God led his people through the wilderness to the Red Sea to escape from the Egyptians (Exodus 13:18).
But God kept David safe when Saul was after him (1 Samuel 1:14).
What it all comes down to is that we’re sinners, doomed for Hell, but God.
This blog post occurred to me when I came across this phrase twice in the epistles. The sentences both contain “But God” and it really stuck out to me.
Ephesians 2 starts out:
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”
Ephesians 2:1-3 (ESV)
That’s dark and seemingly hopeless. But wait for the “But God” moment!
The truth is, we are all hopeless in our own strength. We’re constantly tempted to disobedience. Sometimes we’re being disobedient when we don’t even realize what we’re doing goes against righteousness.
But there is hope:
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:4-7 (ESV) (Emphasis mine)
We are a hopeless people. Through sin, we are destined to darkness. But God. God doesn’t want it to be that way and it doesn’t have to be.
We see this phrase again in Romans:
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8 (ESV) (Emphasis mine)
We are weak. We are ungodly. We don’t deserve Christ’s sacrifice. But God.
Life can be hard. We endure so many struggles. But remember: but God.
It took three weeks in and out of the ICU before I could go home to my baby and husband. And, not only was I not able to take care of my son by myself, but I could barely take care of myself, so I spent two weeks living with my in-laws while my husband worked.
What I had been through was a lot to process mentally and it took me two years to fully recover physically. I had both a shoulder injury and a pelvic floor injury from childbirth. My abdomen was a mess and I ended up having a major reconstructive surgery to repair it.
For weeks after I left the hospital I couldn’t dress myself. I couldn’t walk without holding onto anything for months. Thank goodness I had a stroller to lean on when I had to walk somewhere! I had postpartum depression and PTSD.
My physical life was saved by the doctors, but God saved my life from sin. But God saved me from eternal damnation. So, my struggles seem so small compared to the grace God has given me. But God!
I am so astounded by this phrase, “But God”. Will you stand in awe with me?
BUT GOD.
Bethany Marinelli is an author and speaker out of Orlando, Florida. She also supports her husband, Andrew, in his auto repair business and homeschools her son, Arthur.
If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to this blog below and get a new post in your inbox monthly!