But God . . .

“You can’t do it!” says the voice that causes doubt, discouragement, and sometimes disobedience. When those words are spoken, a choice has to be made: listen or ignore.

Whether it is another person, your own voice, the culture, or the adversary, that voice can carry a lot of weight. To listen to it means to accept that whoever speaks it determines the outcome for you.

Gladys has a legacy because of her decision not to listen but to ignore the voices saying, “You can’t.”
They were voices from a missionary training program saying that her proficiency in Chinese was too low to continue in the program so that she could share the Gospel in China.  She now has a story of faith that inspires many and is the subject of a book and a movie loosely based on her life. Her legacy is one of faith, compassion, and a radical abandonment to God’s desire for all the world to hear the Gospel, even the Republic of China. For 17 years, Gladys May Aylward shared the hope of Jesus, offered hospitality to travelers, and rescued over 100 orphans during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

Gladys’ story is a “But God…” story. Voices were telling her she couldn’t go. But God had different plans. That is something The Tide ministry relates to very well. For 80 years, the ministry has been doing what many voices have said couldn’t be done. When the voices said, “You can’t.” We chose to ignore it and instead focus on “but God . . .”

What started as a local Gospel radio show in 1946 has grown into a global network of Christian media broadcasting partnerships across 14 countries and in 40 languages. It is even more than that. It is a “but God story” to us and to some of the world’s most spiritually isolated communities. It is a voice that rebuts the “You can’t do it” voices that speak to the hearts of humankind. They are voices that tell people:

You can’t have peace!
You can’t know God!
You can’t have your sins forgiven!
You can’t experience unconditional love
You can’t have a relationship with the Creator!

Our response is simple.
But God . . .

But God . . . give us peace . . . has revealed Himself through Jesus . . . nailed them to the cross . . .knows us yet loves us . . . desires a relationship with us.

At 80 years young, our vision is not blurry. In fact, our vision is that of “but God . . .”. We call that vision The Tide Forward. It is a fresh initiative designed to strengthen, expand, and sustain the ministry’s reach for generations to come through three pillars: Relevance, Impact, Transformation.

If you would like to learn more about The Tide Forward, we encourage you to join us for our 80th Anniversary Celebration in October. You can attend in person and enjoy a meal and fellowship, or join us via livestream. To register and reserve your place for the dinner, click here to go to our reservation page. The dinner and event are free.  Sponsorships are available for individuals and organizations who feel led to help cover the cost of the event and to help launch The Tide Forward. You can find out more by going to our Anniversary Sponsorship page.

As we think about what “but God” means for us, we want to encourage you to think about what it means for you. Whatever the voices in your life are saying, consider the following and think about the power of God that enabled Gladys to move forward with what God called her to do. Remember Him who is able to do abundantly more than all we can ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

But God remembered Noah. – Genesis 8:1
But God said to Abraham. – Genesis 21:12
But God will be with you. – Genesis 48:21
But God meant it for good. – Genesis 50:20
But God will surely take care of you. – Genesis 50:24
But God split the hollow place. – Judges 15:19
But God raised Him from the dead. – Acts 13:30
But God demonstrates his love. – Romans 5:8
But God was causing the growth. – 1 Corinthians 3:6
But God had mercy. – Philippians 2:27