BUT

You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us to a place of abundance.

~Psalm 66:13

But.
BUT.
It's such a beautiful word, isn't it?
I'm hurting, BUT the pain won't last forever.
This circumstance stinks, BUT better days are coming.
You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, BUT you brought us to a place of abundance.
What would your sentence say???

I think it is interesting to look at the rest of the story we began last week with the Israelites in Egypt.
They were in a prison of sorts, certainly knowing what it was like to have burdens on their backs - when God revealed the BUT.
Take a look at this:

7 The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9 And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

~Exodus 3:7-10

What has the LORD seen and heard?
What does He say He is going to do?
How does He describe the land into which He is going to take the Israelites?
Perhaps you know the rest of the story. There is a lot of wandering ahead of God's people. They're going to participate in an abundant amount of complaining, their trust will falter frequently, and sometimes they'll even become so forgetful that they'll long for Egypt again.
At one point, they'll actually go through water. (Just like we were reminded in Psalm 66:6.)
BUT - eventually - after they've gone through trials and suffering, after they've doubted God and had their faith tested, after they have been refined and learned to fear the LORD and trust in His power, then they enter the promised land. A good and spacious land, flowing with milk and honey.
Can you see how the story of the Israelites is echoed in Psalm 66:13?

And what about your story, my friend?
How does your circumstance parallel the Truth we see in this verse? In this psalm?
Although refining is never a fun process, though burdens hurt, and fire and water can be frightening, and - if we're honest - we'd really rather just skip it all, I pray you will find hope and comfort in the knowledge that there is a place of abundance ahead.
May God's BUT give you the courage to hold on in faith.