But God: a Favorite Phrase, a Shared Poem

One of my favorite phrases throughout Scripture is “but God.” Such hope in that phrase! My sin earned me death…but God. This world is full of darkness…but God. Things don’t go the way I want them to…but God. Things are sometimes downright terrible…but God. I struggle and fail, over and over…but God.

My mom and I wear this phrase around our necks as a reminder to ourselves and a proclamation of hope to others. We pepper (or perhaps salt, more biblically speaking) our conversations with “but God.” As we talk about our own daily struggles and the evil in the world, the troubles of those we love and the state of the nations, we always circle back around to God’s nearness, His promises, His trustworthiness, His purposes in the pain, His goodness, His power. We don’t know how all the bad can be used for good…but God. He does, and He will do it.

My teenage daughter painted the beautiful “But God” you see below for my birthday. It has the central place of honor on our mantel, partly because she made it and it’s beautiful, and more importantly because I want the reminder of God’s goodness and provision and plan to be central in our minds, forefront in our perception of life, and proclaimed to all who come into our home.

A dear friend recently wrote a poem featuring this beautiful phrase of hope, and gave me permission to share it here. It showcases God’s repeated faithfulness and goodness throughout time. I trust it will bless you as it does me.

Barren wasteland
Empty of shape and purpose
Full of darkness and chaos
BUT GOD
Creates order, beauty, and life

Believing lies
Grabbing the forbidden, then hiding
Wearing only guilt and shame
BUT GOD
Searches, calls by name, and covers with care

Flooded with sin
Subject only to one’s own whims
Drowning in prideful filth
BUT GOD
Cleanses, preserves, and keeps His people afloat

Cast out, abandoned
In a land not home
Alone, watching life drain out
BUT GOD
Sees, comforts, and sustains with living water

Falsely imprisoned
Maybe justly imprisoned
Ignored and forgotten in time
BUT GOD
Remembers, unbinds the chains, and lifts up

Waiting, so…much…waiting…
Barely daring to hope
In the ongoing silence
BUT GOD
Sends His Son, our Savior, a song filling the night

The guiltless Jesus dies
Hanging on a cross
Held there by the sin of the world and mine
BUT GOD
Rolls a stone, resurrects the Lamb, and offers redemption

Dead in my transgressions
Separated from the Holy One
Unable to earn enough points to redeem myself
BUT GOD
In merciful love, raises me to new life

Repentant and forgiven
Beloved child of God
Filled with the Spirit to love and obey
UNTIL GOD
Again creates order, beauty, and life everlasting