I heard a preacher once say, “The word ‘but’ changes time and circumstance.” I’ve found this to be a trustworthy statement.
The Time of the Jews
There was a point in time when God brought Jacob, the one that held the birthright of Abraham, and his family to Egypt. God used Joseph to set the stage for the time of the Jews.
“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.”
Genesis 50:20
The Time of the Gentiles
When we read about Peter and Cornelius and the birth of the dispensation of the Gentiles (everyone that isn’t born a Jew), we see in the book of Acts God is changing time and circumstance.
“Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean.”
Acts 10:28
That “but” from God has changed the lives of over two billion Gentile Christians! If we go all the way back to when Joseph confronted the brothers that betrayed him, we find a profound “but.”
The Time of Salvation
As for Jesus, our Savior, we have perhaps the most important “but” in all of God’s Word. Satan thought he’d beaten God, but God raised Jesus from the dead! God changed the times and circumstances and defeated the enemy in the process.
“And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead,“
Acts 13:29-30
The Change of Circumstances
God’s sovereignty over time and circumstances is something we can rest in. I’m reminded of what Mordecai told Queen Esther.
“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14
Good News
Has God changed times and circumstances in your life for such a time as this? When you think back, have there been moments when your life changed from a “but God?” I rejoice in the “but God” times in my life. I know there were several times when I should have died, but God wasn’t ready for me to leave this world.
I hope you take a moment and thank Him for the “but God” times in your life.
Image by Gino Crescoli from Pixabay
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