There but for the grace of God

Prov. I would likely have experienced or done the same bad thing if God had not been watching over me. (You can say this to refer to someone who has had bad luck; implies that the person is no less virtuous than you are but is now miserable purely because of bad luck, which might happen to you as well.) Jill: Ever since Julia's house burned down, she's been drinking heavily; she'll probably lose her job because of it. Jane: There but for the grace of God.... Whenever Sally saw a beggar, she thought, "There but for the grace of God go I."

something that you say which means something bad that has happened to someone else could have happened to you When you hear about all these people who've lost all this money, you can't help thinking there but for the grace of God go I.