2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
This scripture makes an astounding promise -- God ALWAYS leads us to triumph or victory! But can we ALWAYS count on this amazing word to be true?
We often receive emails from believers who are waiting or hoping for a victory of some kind in their lives. Many seem to be wondering, "Where is this 'always victory' in my life?" Now think about it ... wouldn't it be impossible to gain victory over a thing if we already experienced victory each and every moment? It may sound obvious, but the fact is that in order to gain any victory, you must find yourself in a situation that is questionable, stressful, and may even appear hopeless for a time. The promise is not that we will walk in a constant state of "victoriousness" (my term 🙂 ... but rather that in every situation God will lead us in triumph. We can't even say we will always know what that will look like, but victory is the Lord's irrevocable promise.
Victory is a promise of God, but never forget that it requires a battle ... sometimes a very long one. True faith will stand on this promise in the face of every trial, challenge, or opposition ... remembering that the greatest purpose of every victory is for manifesting the fragrance of our knowledge of Him ... in every place!
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy Devotions. This devotional was originally published on Worthy Devotions and was reproduced with permission.
How to display the above article within the Worthy Suite WordPress Plugin.
[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]A.W. Tozer had an interesting commentary on this verse. He said: "Faith is seeing the invisible, but not the nonexistent."
When does God answer our prayers? And when do we receive what we ask of Him? And when are we confident He has heard our requests? Many of us wonder why our prayers seem to go unanswered.
A farmer was showing his visiting citydwelling friend around his farm. "Watch this!" he said. He gave a whistle and his little dog came running from the house, herded the cattle into the corral, then latched the gate with her paw. "Wow, that's some dog -- what's her name?" The forgetful farmer thought for a minute and then asked, "What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?" "A rose?" "That's it!" The farmer turned to his wife. "Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?"
According to church history, the apostle Thomas, died in Calamina, a city in the East Indies. While there, Thomas had put a stop to the idolatry that was running rampant in the land. The idolatrous priest was not happy about this at all and accused him before their king. The king sentenced Thomas to death -- first to be tormented by red hot plates and then cast into a glowing furnace and burned. When the priest saw that the fire was not hurting him, he pierced Thomas' side with spears and javelins, and finally Thomas died.
A significant response to the current pandemic has been medical professionals in various places offering valuable advice on the role of diet toward building and increasing our body's immunity to viruses and disease in general. This kind of advice can be truly salutary, even life-saving. Yet the aphorism, "You are what you eat", though often heard, isn't always taken as seriously as we might...And that may contribute to unpleasant health consequences.
Missionaries Dick and Margaret Hillis found themselves caught in China during the Japanese invasion. The couple lived with their two children in the inland town of Shenkiu. The village was tense with fear, for every day brought terrifying reports of the Japanese advance. At the worst possible time, Dick developed appendicitis, and he knew his life depended on making the long journey to the hospital. On January 15, 1941, with deep foreboding, Margaret watched him leave.
As Joshua led the children of Israel into the promised land it seemed that God had given them an impossible assignment -- to conquer a foreign and hostile land with fortified cities and armies greater than their own. They had to go forth only on the basis of God's promise. They had to walk by faith and not by sight!