Reminders of God’s word can guide our daily lives, but only if we follow those reminders. Earlier, I introduced the blog’s mascot, “Ebenezer, the ‘But God…’ Squirrel.” Ebenezer is a reminder that however difficult or frustrating our situation, if we actively and intentionally inject God into the situation, He can and will show us the best way forward. However, what if we try to say “But God” but take the wrong path anyway? If we do, we are not alone.
Ebenezer, trying to get your attention.
A search of the exact words “but God” in the ESV Bible gives 43 results, and the first one is found in Genesis 3:3, which says “but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” This verse occurs when the serpent in the garden questions God’s word that Adam and Eve were limited by God in what they should and shouldn’t do. Eve, the speaker in the quote above, responds rightly that God had been specific about what not to do. As most of my readers will know, even though Eve knew God’s word, the serpent was able to convince her to ignore it.
As they say in the financial industry, “past performance is no guarantee of future results,” but I will guarantee anyway that today and every day every one of us face temptation to do something God wants to protect us from. I also am confident of the words “but God…” that “If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely,” as I quoted earlier from James Montgomery Boice. But we must live by them to be transformed by God, not just quote them.
Today, pray that we all would be distracted by God’s word as easily as we are sometimes distracted by a passing squirrel when we are tempted to ignore His voice in our souls. And if God delivers you from temptation today, make a note, a perpetual “stone of help” that God’s word is good!
Keep an eye out for Ebenezer as an ongoing series here, covering the 43 direct “but God” references, but also others.
Every blog needs a mascot, right? Well, maybe not every blog, but I decided this one does. Before I introduce him, a little backstory on where he came from.
Boston is one of my favorite places to visit, and when I was there in October 2022, we got this great picture of a squirrel in Boston Common. The squirrels there ignore people most of the time, instead of running away like squirrels usually do. But this one was not afraid of us at all; he walked right up and stared us down. He stayed like this long enough for us to take a picture and was still around after we walked away. For squirrels, fear of humans is a learned behavior and, in some environments, they just go about their business, unconcerned.
Ebenezer, at home in Boston Common
He was a great contrast to the “squirrel moments”[1] dogs (and people) have when they are “distracted by random nothingness.” The Facebook page where I share this blog is called “A place to inject hopeful reminders of eternity into the distraction that is Facebook.” I’ve used this squirrel as my social media picture before to joke that it was the best way to draw attention, and if people are easily distracted by squirrels, why not use one to distract people toward the blog?
So, this squirrel is now the mascot for Driving Toward Morning! But he needs a name. What to call him?
Meet Ebenezer Many people know the name Ebenezer from Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, but in the Bible an Ebenezer is a stone monument constructed as a tangible and visible reminder of God’s past help for His people. Ebenezer means “stone of help,” and such monuments were built in Genesis 28:18, 35:14, Joshua 4:9, 1 Samuel 7:12 and elsewhere. When I write, I’m often trying to create a type of written Ebenezer.
For example, inspired by a devotional about Ephesians 2:4, I wrote a post about the power of the words “but God.” In it, James Montgomery Boice says: “The words ‘but God’ show what God has done. If you understand those two words – ‘but God’ – they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely.”[2]
So, I’ve decided to name him “Ebenezer, the ‘But God…’ Squirrel,” but you can just call him Ebenezer. Whenever I see Ebenezer, I hope to be pulled back into awareness of God’s help when I am distracted or frustrated. I hope to be reminded to store up treasure in heaven as squirrels store food for the winter. I hope to fear God and not man. I hope to be encouraged to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), as every squirrel I see reminds me that interrupting the seeming chaos of the world with “but God” can change everything.
Next time, and every time, you see a squirrel, I hope you are reminded of the same. The world is not random, and God is relevant to your situation, whatever it is.
If you’re ever in Boston and see Ebenezer, say hello to him for me.
Being human is difficult, but sometimes a pause to reflect can make a big difference. Ephesians 2:4 says: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us…” Pastor James Boice jumps on those first two words as a key turning point: “But God! Here is where the beauty and wonder of the Christian gospel comes in.”
Ephesians 2 begins with people following “the course of this world,” chasing whatever “passions” and “desires” came to mind. Before “but God”, we were all “dead” (v 1) and “by nature children of wrath” (v 3). All of our efforts are doomed to failure.
The story does not stop there. For God’s people it never does. After “but God”, we have been made alive together with Christ (v 5), we are shown the immeasurable riches of His grace (v 7), and we are enabled to do the good, meaningful works He has prepared for us (v 10).
When we wonder whether this world is all there is and that this is the best we can do, we respond “But God…” When frustrated with yourself, with others, or with the world in general, bring to mind the words “but God.” These words are relevant to every situation because He has not left things as they are, but He intervened through Jesus on the cross and through His Spirit in our lives every day. “The words ‘but God’ show what God has done. If you understand those two words – ‘but God’ – they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely.”[1]
Call the words “but God…” to mind whenever you’re overcome with negativity. Say “but God…” to others who are struggling. For every situation, He can fill the “…” with hope if you pause and give Him the opportunity. But also, when you see God’s blessings in your daily life, think “but God” because He has not left us alone.
[1] From “November 7.” James Montgomery Boice and Marion Clark. Come to the Waters: Daily Bible Devotions for Spiritual Refreshment. (2017).
Regular readers will know that I am a fan of Douglas Adams’ science fiction comedy novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Adams makes a comic art form of extreme absurdity, and one such creation is the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. In the book, intergalactic hitchhikers are urged to always travel with a towel, and among the reasons is that a towel is handy to wrap around your head to “avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (such a mind-boggingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can’t see it, it can’t see you)”[1] By simply covering your eyes, you can escape being devoured by this Beast, one of the least intelligent creatures in existence.
I thought of this Beast when reading Psalm 50:17, which says: “For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.” Why cast words behind us? So we can’t see them, and if we can’t see them, we think we can safely ignore them. Perhaps God will leave us alone, as if He does not exist. But the verse is a warning not to be like the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal. God can’t be swept under a rug and ignored.
There is an episode in the book of Ezekiel that would be comical if it weren’t so tragically similar to this Beast. Ezekiel’s many images, object lessons, and visions are designed to stir God’s people from complacency and turn back to Him. To fully convince Ezekiel that the nation was casting God’s word behind them, Ezekiel was taken in a vision inside the temple in Jerusalem, and this is what he saw:
“So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.’” – Ezekiel 8:10-12
Ezekiel was a prophet to Jews already exiled to Babylon, but Jerusalem itself had not yet fallen, and many Jews thought it was impossible. But inside the temple, the very place symbolizing God’s presence and glorious light, the elders of Israel were worshipping Egyptian-style animal deities and using incense to ward off evil spirits. They sinned, while saying God couldn’t see them because they don’t see evidence of Him in their circumstances: “the LORD has forsaken the land.” How like the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal!
Later, in Ezekiel 9:9, the prophet records:“Then [God] said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.’”
Sometimes by casting His words behind us, we may think we are forsaken. We interpret His word in light of our circumstances, instead of interpreting our circumstances in light of His word. It is when the church acts like God doesn’t see that we should be fearful. When the church claims Jesus as Savior but not as Lord. When the church trusts in worldly power, not God’s power. When the church struggles to see how their very Maker and King is, as they say, “relevant.”
In Ezekiel chapter 10, the glory of Lord departs the Jerusalem temple entirely, and all of Judah was exiled, but Ezekiel’s message wasn’t finished. He also proclaims hope, most dramatically in chapter 37, the “Valley of Dry Bones” vision. Ezekiel sees dry bones scattered everywhere across a valley, symbolizing how spiritually dead God’s own people appear. The vision is a test for Ezekiel: would he look at the valley and assume, based on the immediate circumstances, that “The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see”? In verse 3, he writes: “And he said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’” Ezekiel doesn’t jump to conclusions but trusts that God knows best: “And I answered, ‘O Lord GOD, you know.’” Symbolizing new life in Christ, even from death, God re-assembles the dry bones, adds sinew and flesh and skin, then breathes life into them, “and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.”[2]
In the Valley of Dry Bones, Ezekiel learned that God does see our dire situation, and He has a plan, even if we choose to look the other way. This plan is infinitely and eternally more “relevant” than any present (and temporary) circumstances.
In the New Testament the plan continues with an Ebenezer[3] moment, as the apostle Paul wrote: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6)
[1] Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. (1980). [2] Ezekiel 37:10b [3] Ebenezer, the ‘But God…’ Squirrel, is the blog’s mascot and a reminder that, no matter the situation, God can overcome it, and the words “But God…” in the Bible are often moments where that happens.
What is an Ebenezer? In the Old Testament, an Ebenezer was a “stone of help,” a kind of monument to times God helped His people. These markers were a reminder of God’s faithfulness, providing strength for the present and future. Sometimes in the Bible, these moments where God intervenes are noted by the phrase “but God” followed by a change in the direction of the story.
Ebenezer (pictured) is also a squirrel, and this blog’s mascot. He represents these “but God” memorials in the Bible. As a squirrel suddenly and unexpectedly draws our attention, Ebenezers draw our attention to reminders of God’s influence on history and our lives. If so, a “scurry” of squirrels, as a group of them is called, should get our attention even more! In the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, Ebenezer (“but God”) appears multiple times:
Genesis 45:8 – “So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
Genesis 48:21 – “Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.”
Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Gen. 50:24 “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’”
The story of Joseph is long and complicated but is really a story of extreme sibling rivalry and jealousy being turned by God into a story of salvation for all of God’s family. God intervened in many ways.
Joseph was favored by his father over his brothers, and when he shared his dreams that his family would one day bow down to him, his brothers despised him more and sold him into slavery in Egypt. Joseph’s brothers directly were responsible this, “but God” accomplished much for Joseph in Egypt, according to Genesis 45:8. The result of one “but God” is that Joseph had risen to a position of great power.
In addition, Joseph’s brothers hated him enough to not only sell him into slavery, but they also lied to their father, saying Joseph had been killed by wild animals. “But God” not only used these evil intentions and acts to raise up Joseph, but through Joseph God also “meant it for good,” as Genesis 50:20 says, keeping many people alive. Joseph had been placed in charge of the distribution of food in Egypt during a long famine. When Joseph’s brothers came from Canaan to buy food, Joseph concealed his identity and tested them, but eventually revealed himself and gave them a new home in Egypt, providing food and a livelihood for them for years. God made something great out of the evil of Joseph’s brothers.
There are more bad events in Joseph’s life that God overcame, without a direct “but God” reference. Joseph had been wrongly accused of attempted rape by the wife of his earlier Egyptian employer, Potiphar. While spending time in prison on this charge, Joseph also suffered an extended sentence because the cupbearer, who promised to advocate for Joseph to Pharaoh, forgot about him for 2 years. All of these things Joseph overcame, with God intervening all along the way.
One last example. Joseph also prophesied another “but God” in the future, in Genesis 50:24. While Egypt initially welcomed Israel with open arms, giving them land in a choice area of Egypt, as the nation of Israel grew, they were eventually bound in slavery when a Pharaoh saw their size as a threat. Joseph knew Israel would be delivered from this slavery, and “God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” The people would return to Canaan.
What does this mean for us? That God is always intervening in our lives in more ways than we know, or probably could even comprehend. Sometimes our lives can seem out of control and overwhelming, “but God” intervenes in our past, present, and future.
Every moment, we are surrounded by a scurry of Ebenezers, including many we are not aware of.
“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper
Driving Toward the Morning Sun 