Welcome again to another podcast of Struggling Well. We're glad that you've joined us again this week. And Here's a thought that has gone through my mind. It's actually prompted recently by a song that we sang in worship at our church. and it's this phrase that is scattered throughout scripture, Old and New Testament, the phrase, "But God." And I think it's a great phrase because it causes you to stop and realize that life was heading in one direction or things were happening in one direction, but God stepped in and there was a bigger picture being told. For example, in the book of Genesis, we looked not too long ago at Joseph's life from Genesis. In Genesis 50, it says, "As for you, God," Joseph speaking to his brothers, "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good to bring about that many people should be kept alive as they are today." There it is. Life heading in one direction, humanly speaking, but God intervenes and steps in. And so, that kind of is the first of my in my mind of those but God statements that are scattered throughout the scripture. And so, babe, you want to jump in and add anything?
Absolutely not. You carry on. I'm not kidding.
No, I want to hear more of what you have to say.
you know, then I can go to the Psalms and in the 73rd Psalm, the Psalm of Asf. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God in the is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Again, Asf's in a bad place as a psalmist, and he's ready to cash it all in, but God steps in. in a way that is really amazing and he sees things from a different perspective. And Jesus in Matthew 19 says he looks at the people and he says you with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.
Let me tell you from a human standpoint
yeah
that where and I this may be all about my heart and not anyone else's heart but you know as I'm looking at the printed these printed verses My flesh and my heart may fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. You know where I get stuck at the comma because I feel there's so many times when my heart and my flesh are failing and comma and I know God will be who he is. But I think we see throughout scripture the comma that place of in between where it's like ah what are you going to do here God? And it doesn't feel like At the moment, your heart and your flesh are failing. And so, I wonder if there are others of you like me that get stuck at the comma.
Yeah. And I would say this, Suzi, too, that so many times when we hear the we're having a conversation, somebody says something nice, but and they use the word but, it usually means there's something negative that's going to come after that.
Yes.
That, hey, I really like the way you are, way you treat me, but and you're like, okay, the shoe's about to drop. Well, in this case the butt means that God is stepping in as he has been there all along but he's going to reveal himself in a way that is amazing and so the verse maybe the most famous of the but God statements in scripture is Ephesians chapter 2 it and he describes how we are in a bad way in a bad place but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he's loved us even though we were dead in our trespasses made us alive together with Christ and it's the one that changed life altogether. I was in deep trouble. You were in deep trouble. We all were in deep trouble. And because God's great love than which he loved us, but God rich in mercy.
And when I talk about the comma, I think that is the place where I have to trust God in a way that when my heart and my flesh are failing, when I'm in a bad place, when I'm dead in my trespasses and sin, the that space between the hard thing that's happening or my poor choices or whatever to know that God is over all of it. He doesn't waste anything or good, bad, ugly, indifferent, whatever. He doesn't waste any of it. that he will intervene. He will show himself. He will be glorified. but I think just sitting here now, I'm convicted about that. space there and I'll probably beat that dog dead before the morning is over. what do you have any thoughts there?
Yeah. No, I just that I think that we realize that what we've been called to live, the Christian life we've been called to live is an impossible life to live on our own. It's only possible because of what God has done.
Yeah.
And that's the thing that has struck me about this phrase, but God. He his incredible love for us caused him to act in a way that we cannot humanly ever humanly speaking could we could never achieve it. And so I see that as the rich mercies and grace of God in the midst of our lives. And it's not always visible. It's not a it's not a clean okay let me just think about this and okay good. I'm all okay.
because it's in the middle of those struggles.
Yeah.
When we're at our lowest. that we expect, not expect, we sometimes demand that God act on our timetable to shorten that gap of the comma,
right? Yes. Yes. And I think that we can see it and I use this phrase a lot, but we it's all throughout scripture. I you know, we are the ones that sinned against a God that created us with an intention to live with him forever to live in this world of peace and perfection and walking with him and We are the ones mankind chose to try to find our own way a different way. I you know I don't think I have to look far in my own life to see that I would have made the same horrible choice and then once again enter but God what did God do? God immediately intervened. there's so many examples of that throughout scripture. Sometimes God let the nation of Israel go through some wicked times because their disobedian and their choices were so far away from what he had designed and asked of them. But he always intervened.
Yeah. And I think that's the part about the love of God that is at times hard. We can talk about it, but it's hard to see it actualized in our own lives that God loves us with an unbelievable love. And it's in Romans 5'8, famous verse, but God demonstrates his own love. love for us in that this while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. So I didn't have to move at all.
I was still according to Romans still a sinner.
Yeah.
But he moved towards me and he demonstrated that love in sending his son to the cross. And so behind all of those things is the incredible love of God for us.
So after the comma
Yeah.
and then the word but is hope.
It is. It's where hope is found. And in this world that we live in today, whatever your individual world may look like today. Maybe you're in a sweet spot right now in life or maybe you're in you're struggling deeply with things. hope is found because God loves you and hope is found in Christ.
Thanks for joining us this week. We hope you tune in next week.