I have a big but. I’ll confess it’s a hard thing to admit, but I want to be open and honest with myself…and with you. So here goes…The thing is, you have a big but, too.

How’s that for honesty? Only a real friend would be this honest with you.These big buts of ours often stand in the way of our doing what we should do, or what would benefit us most. Don’t go thinking those with little buts out there are getting off the hook. Even little buts can stand in the way.

Here’s my big but:

I know I should start my day off reading my Bible, BUT I’m just no good in the morning. It takes me time to wake up and pay attention… besides, I like to check email, Facebook and CNN first…

Maybe that’s not your big but, maybe yours is something like this:

I know I should go to church…but

I know God wants more of me… but

I know I should give more of myself… but

I know I should join a Bible study… but

I know I should go deeper in my faith…but

I know I should put God first in my marriage, family, etc… but

But

I’m too busy, too tired, too frustrated, too overcommitted already, or just too afraid…

See? Those big buts are just in the way. They are in the way of all God has for us. They amount to empty excuses we use to keep us right where we are rather than allowing us to move forward in our relationships with Him. What would happen if we set aside our big buts for a minute? What would happen if we just said, “Okay”, instead?

What if we decided that whatever it is that God is asking of us, we just said–
“Okay. I’ll do it!”

If we trust in him completely then we know for sure one thing is true. Jeremiah 29:11 says:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Whether our buts come from a place of fear, laziness, or complacency, the result is the same. We are taking a pass on all that God has waiting to bless us with. His plans to prosper us, and to give us a hope and a future. So if there’s all that waiting for us, why not just get rid of these big buts? And the best part is, we don’t have to join a gym or go on a diet to do it!