Nehemiah 9

Yes, before you get too worked up, observe the spelling of the word "but" in the title. It’s a part of speech, not a part of the body! And it illustrates something wonderful about God—that He is always eager to give us another chance and that He is always willing to forgive, forget, and move on.

In this chapter, as the Israelite exiles recounted the history of God and their nation, there were a lot of buts flying around:

"You told them to go in and take possession of the land you had sworn with uplifted hand to give them. But they, our ancestors, became arrogant and stiff-necked, and they did not obey your commands." (vs 15-16)

"They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them." (vs 17)

"You warned them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant and disobeyed your commands." (vs 29)

"By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples. But in your great mercy you did not put an end to them or abandon them, for you are a gracious and merciful God." (vs 30-31)

Especially in passages like this, the word but is always a game-changer. God was faithful and kind to the Israelites, but they didn’t want to have anything to do with Him. The Israelites were stubborn in their rebellion, but God treated them with mercy and grace.

Just like the Israelites, we are still veering off-course today. Sometimes it’s conscious. Sometimes it’s not. Either way, God always has another but up His sleeve. When we’ve thrown a but (like a wrench) into the middle of the situation and messed everything up, God comes right back to us with His own game-changer.

We expect punishment, but God practices forgiveness. We expect to be given up on, but God is faithful until the very end. He doesn’t let our but determine the final outcome. If we veer off-course, He is there to meet us with a new revelation of grace. But is definitely one of the biggest words in God’s vocabulary!