December 27, 2019

Two Words that Can Change Your Life

By Skip Heitzig

I want you to consider the two most important words in our vocabulary: but God. There may not be two more hopeful words than these, because they point us to the great interrupter, the one who can powerfully and graciously interrupt our lives with His plans and change our lives forever.

The phrase "but God" appears in the Bible forty-five times, and every time it appears, situations are changed radically. With this phrase, anything is possible—even a resurrection.

In a message Paul the apostle preached in Acts 13, he said, "When they had fulfilled all that was written concerning [Jesus], they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God raised Him from the dead. He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people" (vv. 29-31).

I love that. God had the last word. Jesus was put on the cross and left for dead, but God raised Him up. They put Jesus in a tomb, but God got Him out. They walked away and thought it was all over, but God made sure it was just the beginning. Jesus died, but God. The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the ultimate "but God" moment in history. If God can do that, then God can do anything.

I hope those two little words of hope, "but God," are part of your story. You were once dead in sin, unable to find peace, but God showed up (see Ephesians 2:1-7). You were once running from God, but God hunted you down. You were once deceived, blind, and hopeless, but God opened your eyes.

Maybe you're thinking, I have too many sins to overcome. I have too much to be forgiven for. But if God can raise a corpse from the dead, He can change your life today, guaranteed. Difficulty must always be measured by the capacity of the agent doing the work. When that agent is God, "all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).

No matter who you are, what you've done, what mistakes you've made, what failures you've been involved in, God can change it all. There can be a "but God" moment that radically changes who you are. After all, Jesus died, but God raised Him from the dead. Jesus was placed in a tomb, but God raised Him up. Thank the Lord for the glorious hope found in those two little words.

For more from Skip Heitzig, visit ConnectwithSkip.com, and listen to today's broadcast of Connect with Skip Heitzig at OnePlace.com.