You never forget great teachers and their lessons.
This morning as I read 2 Corinthians 4, verses 8 and 9, I was reminded of a lesson my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Minnie Dean, taught as it relates to coordinating conjunctions, specifically BUT.
She told my classmates and me that when we see or hear the coordinating conjunction "BUT," usually what we are about to see or hear next will be opposite of what we've just seen or heard or it will hold "more weight" than what came before the "BUT."
(She did explain that there are instances where this isn't true but there were not many.)
It helped us, my classmates and me, to understand when it was appropriate to use BUT in a sentence versus using the other coordinating conjunctions. (for, and, nor, or, yet, so)
Examples:
Erica is a straight A student, BUT she has a horrible attitude.
Erica is absent from school a lot, BUT she completes all assignments and passes every test.
In both examples, what came after the "BUT" held more weight than what came before it.
That lesson stuck with me. I even used it when I started teaching. Just as it did with me, it helped my students identify coordinating conjunctions, understand their meanings, and understand when to use each one in a sentence.
As I read, 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, I was encouraged.
-We are pressed on every side by troubles, BUT we are not crushed.
We are perplexed, BUT we are not driven to despair.
We are hunted down, BUT we are never abandoned by God.
We get knocked down, BUT we are not destroyed.-
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
Just as Mrs. Dean taught, what came after the BUT held more weight than what came before it.
Let me encourage you as I was encouraged.
You may have lost your job, BUT God is a provider. You may have gotten a bad doctor’s report, BUT God is a healer.
You may have just gone through a terrible breakup or divorce, BUT God is a comforter.
You may have faced public humiliation and lost everything, BUT God is a restorer.
They may have said that you don’t deserve it, BUT God says you are the chosen one.
The enemy may be plotting against you and your family, BUT God is a protector.
When you are a child of God, you do not have to fret when trouble comes. What God will do next will HOLD MORE WEIGHT than what has happened in the past. What He will do next will cause everything else to lose its significance. He is the ultimate plot twister.
