Listen for the But

We have often heard messages taught about God's "but's".  But's are consequential words that are usually associated with a change of circumstances.  Frequently in the Word, we encounter the phrase "but God..." which lets us know how God reversed the situation and came to the rescue.  You can hear the echoes of "but God" in people's testimonies.  It is powerful and can be life changing for folks.  There is another side to the but's though, one that is not as frequently considered.  When those "but's" come into play, we have to be listening very carefully.

Recently as I was studying I encountered the following scripture: Matthew 17:22-23 One day after they had returned to Galilee, Jesus told them, "The Son of Man is going to be betrayed.  He will be killed, but three days later he will be raised from the dead." And the disciples' hearts were filled with grief.  My first thought was, "They weren't listening to the but!"  Then the Lord said, "And how often do my children do the very same thing?"  Think about the scenario for the disciples.  They had been following Jesus and hanging on His every word and deed.  They were most likely mesmerized by His wisdom and His power.  They had yet to really understand the power or even the deeper concepts that He shared with them in intimacy when they were alone.  Suddenly He throws this news to them - betrayal and death!  Those words sent shock waves through their systems.  No!  This could not be true!  Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God.  Who would possibly be able to murder Him???  They missed the but and their hearts were filled with grief.

Here were disciples who had watched Jesus in action.  They had seen people raised from the dead.  Being raised from the dead meant life!  However they could not process the last phrase in Jesus' words because their focus was on the tragedy of losing Him.  Their emotions were now in control of their minds.  Their ears and brains had ceased to function for the moment.  If they had waited to react until after they had processed all that Jesus had to say, their reaction might have been very different.  Although the thought of Jesus being killed would be very upsetting, the mere idea that he would be raised from the dead would be incredible to anticipate.  But they weren't thinking along those lines, and their hearts were filled with grief.

Have you ever had a "but moment" with God?  I have ~ quite a few as a matter of fact, but there is one that stands out strikingly against the backdrop of my life.  I had just moved to Atlanta to start my life over.  Within a few short weeks I had realized that this wonderful job  I had relocated to take was not going to be so wonderful after all.  There were clearly huge conflicts with the personalities that were in leadership and I was powerless to make the changes that were needed for the organization.  I vividly recall sitting on the bed in my studio apartment and crying out to the Lord.  I was alone with no friends, no family, no church support system.  It was God and me.  Pure and Simple.  I sought understanding from Him and He provided, although there was a huge BUT.  

Prior to moving a dear friend and prophet of the Lord had shared with me a vision that had been given to him by the Lord for me.  In that vision there had been a very difficult mountain climb that was culminated with a surprise decent.  The rest of the details of the vision are not important at this juncture, because that night as I sat crying on my bed, the Lord spoke.  He reminded me of the vision asking if I remembered.  Then He told me I had to trust Him because in spite of what had already transpired in my life to free me, I was still ascending the mountain and there was even more pain ahead of me. The climb would be very difficult, BUT He promised me that there were blessings in store for me along the way that I would not even be able to imagine.  He was so right about the difficulty of the months that were ahead of me.  However if I had not heard the rest of the sentence, I would have gotten very discouraged.  Instead I was able to focus on the future and not the present and persisted through those very difficult times.  

The blessings did come and still are.  Are the difficult times over?  Those times are, but more have come along the way.  That is life.  If we are only listening to what we can understand through our initial grasp of the situation and the input of our five senses, then we will surely struggle.  Listening to all that He tries to explain or just share with you provides power and strength that only He can provide.  We can do nothing on our own strength.  If we think we can, then we are falling into the same trap as listening to only part of what is being said to us.  We need the complete heart of God within us.  We need the wisdom and discernment that following Holy Spirit brings us.  We need the full agape love that the Lord has bestowed on us and through us.  We need the Alpha and Omega - the beginning and the end, not bits and pieces of Him.

One more scripture for you:  James 1:21-15  Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.Without taking all of the verses together with the "but's", we will surely miss the mark.  Hearing the word is not enough, we must be doers of the word.  We need the entire message the Lord is giving to us and we must live out the entire word, trusting Him in all things, knowing that He has a righteous plan for our lives.  Are you listening to the But's in your life?