And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  BUT GOD, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us.... (Ephesians 2:1)

Without trying to be too philosophical, I must say that life can be classified as a "predicament."  A predicament is defined in the dictionary as a "trying situation."  From the time we are born, to the time that we die, we are faced with many predicaments.  Unfortunately there are many people who are walking around without understanding the seriousness of life's main predicament.  You see, it is only after we have been saved that we realize the seriousness of the predicament.  Very briefly, Paul shares with us 1) What the predicament is  2)  What caused the predicament  and 3) The solution to the predicament.

The predicament is that we were dead in trespasses.  When we speak of death, we usually think of the cessation of a person's existence.  However, Paul tells us that we should be concerned with spiritual death.  In essence, we were separated from God. 

The cause of our predicament is sin.  We are dead in trespasses and sins.  The world; the prince of power (Satan); and the flesh, all contribute to our predicament.  Regardless of how hard we try, WE CANNOT EXTRICATE OURSELVES from our predicament. 

However there is good news.  There is a solution to our predicament.  "BUT GOD, WHO IS RICH IN MERCY, BECAUSE OF HIS GREAT LOVE WITH WHICH HE LOVED US...MADE US ALIVE TOGETHER WITH CHRIST by grace you have been saved..."

God has provided the solution through His Son Jesus Christ.  We were dead, BUT GOD.......we were lost, BUT GOD...... we were hopeless.......BUT GOD......we were blind.....BUT GOD......we were on our way to hell....BUT GOD!

Whenever life's trying situations begin to overwhelm you, don't despair, just remember....."BUT GOD"