But God . . .

Have you ever looked up the phrase “but God” in the Bible? You’ll find it in a lot of interesting situations where God intervened.

Take the story of Noah, for example. I wonder if he started to lose hope as he and his family bobbed around in that ark with all those animals after the Flood. Genesis 8:1 tells us, “But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede” (NLT, emphasis added).

Then we have the story of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and thought he was dead. Yet God preserved him. He elevated Joseph to a position of great power in which he was in charge of the food supply.

When a famine struck, his brothers appeared before him one day, asking for food. Joseph said to them, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NLT, emphasis added).

The nation of Israel faced the Red Sea—an insurmountable obstacle—with the Egyptian army in hot pursuit. But God intervened. And what looked like a hopeless situation became a time of glorious deliverance.

The Bible tells us, “But the people of Israel had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood up like a wall on both sides” (Exodus 14:29 NLT).

The lives of Noah, Joseph, and the Israelites remind us that “with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26 NKJV).

Maybe, like them, you’re in a place where the only way out is God. You can be sure of this: God is bigger than your problem. And God will always have the last word.