Listen to today’s devo!

It was not you who sent me here, but God. (Gen 45:8)

“But God” is a powerful phrase to sum up this week’s narrative about Joseph. Go back and read Genesis 45:8. Focus on what happened after “but God.” In the Bible, when we see a “but,” often something big transpires. Even today, God continues to make himself known.

There was a seminary student who experienced a “but God” moment. One morning during a chapel service, the speaker told a story about how God paid for his seminary tuition. The student had a similar need and decided to pray for his tuition to be paid also. He completed the first year, scraping nickels together. He completed the second year, scraping nickels together. Year three, there just were not going to be enough nickels, so he withdrew from all but one class. But God! On a cold winter morning, he received a call from his wife, who was a kindergarten teacher. In tears, she told him about a parent of one of her students who wanted to know if help was needed to pay for seminary. “But God” paid for the last two years.

I do not know your circumstances. I do not know what you are praying about. I do know the same God in Joseph’s story and the seminary student’s story is involved in your story too. Know a “but God” is in your future.

Write a prayer that has not been answered. Then write, “But God.”

T. J. Albertson has been pastoring for seventeen years, the last fifteen as interchurch service. He is a doctoral student at Wesley Seminary and loves teaching the whole Bible and its relevance to life.

© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.