Lyrics
Can I give a little testimony
How l'm only here because of His hand
The enemy tried to end my story
But God had a different plan
See He took my sin and broke my bondage
And He raised me up right outta that grave
So I can't hold my hallelujah
I'm so glad that Jesus saves
I was sinking
But I'm singing now
I was, but God
But God had a different plan
I was drowning
But I'm dancing now
I was, but God
But God had a different plan
I'm not praising because I'm perfect
I'm praising Him 'cause He brought me through
I worship 'cause His name is worthy
And I've seen what His grace can do
And if He did it for me He can do it for you
I was sinking
But I'm singing now
I was, but God
But God had a different plan
I was drowning
But I'm dancing now
I was, but God
But God had a different plan
But God had a different plan
But God had a different plan
But God had a different plan
But God had a different plan
(Hallelujah)
(All praise to the Great I Am)
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound (Hallelujah)
That saved a broken wretch like me (All praise to the Great I Am)
And I was once was lost but now I'm found (Hallelujah)
Was blind but now my heart can see (All praise to the Great I Am)
When we've been there ten thousand years (Hallelujah)
Bright and shining as the sun (All praise to the Great I Am)
We've no less days to sing God's praise (Hallelujah)
Than when we've first begun
All praise to the Great I Am
I was sinking
But I'm singing now
I was, but God
But God had a different plan
I was drowning
But I'm dancing now
I was, but God
But God had a different plan
All praise to the Great I Am
All praise to the Great I Am
All praise to the Great I Am
All praise to the Great I Am
All praise to the Great I Am
All praise to the Great I Am
Credits & Song Information
- Performed By
- Elevation Rhythm
- Community reviewed
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
“I Was, But God” is a testimony of rescue built around the contrast between danger and divine intervention. The singer remembers sin, bondage, sinking, and drowning, then answers each former condition with praise. “But God had a different plan” becomes the turning point: despair does not receive the final word because Jesus saves, raises, and brings the captive through.
The song does not present praise as evidence of perfection. Instead, worship rises from firsthand knowledge of grace and from confidence in God’s worthiness. Its language recalls the biblical movement from death to life by mercy, while the images of sinking and deliverance echo cries for rescue found in the Psalms. The inclusion of “Amazing Grace” widens the testimony into a familiar confession of being lost and found, blind and able to see. Repeated hallelujahs and praise to the Great I Am complete the response: the singer’s changed condition becomes a reason to honor the God whose action altered the story.
Related Scripture
- Ephesians 2:4-5 The passage turns on “But God” and describes being made alive by mercy and grace.
- Psalm 40:2-3 The psalm joins rescue from a pit with a new song of praise.
- Luke 15:24 The father describes the lost as found and the dead as alive again.