One way each of us can choose triumph over discouragement today
By Dean Collins
One of my favorite passages of Scripture is 2 Corinthians 2:14. In the middle of describing the resolution of a difficult situation in the church, Paul declared, “ But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphant procession.”
Christ always leads us in triumphant procession! I don’t know about you, but this verse both energizes me and causes me to do some reflecting. Here’s what I believe: God is for us and not against us. In him we have a new identity and purpose. We are called to be the visible witness of Jesus in the world daily. Jesus is victorious over death and the grave. He will come again in glory to renew and restore all that is broken. And because of all of these truths found in Scripture I accept and know that we are walking with Jesus in a triumphant procession.
A mentality of discouragement
On the other hand, I’ve noticed something about you. And you’ve no doubt noticed it about me. We often look and act more like a tired, beaten, and discouraged Little League team after being whopped. And our dugout conversations are all about how the umpires were against us, the pitcher lied about his age, and the other team are all a bunch of cheaters.
When things are tough and we aren’t seeing many visible successes, it’s easy to take on a mentality of discouragement. And often we digress into complaining and making accusations about fairness or lack of it. We look for someone or something to blame for our apparent failures. And then we are confronted with this truth from the apostle Paul:
“Christ always leads us in triumphant procession.”
Not just me
As I considered this verse this morning, I focused on the word “us.” The verse doesn’t say “always leads me.” Yes, I’m aware Jesus loves me. I know I must decide what to do with Jesus. I must resolve to believe he is who he claimed to be and accept his sacrifice on the cross as forgiveness for my sin. But when I chose to follow Jesus, I became a part of “us.” We are the body of Christ, and He is leading us in triumphant procession.
If we look back at verse 11 in this same chapter, we discover another truth. Paul is wrapping up a discussion about welcoming a brother in Christ back into the fellowship of the church. There had been sinful behavior, and it was addressed by the church. Apparently some weren’t ready to forgive and move on, and Paul was pleading that just as discipline is appropriate, forgiveness is essential. According to Paul. if we don’t forgive as Christ forgives, then the enemy literally has outwitted us. And then Paul said, “for we are not ignorant of his designs.” The implication is that Satan does tempt and attack individuals, but his end game is to create dysfunction and disunity in us, the body of Christ.
Making triumph possible
In order to be the triumphant body of Christ, we must address the lack of unity in the body caused in part by our lack of practicing forgiveness. We are quick to name sin and sadly quick to gossip about sinners, but often slow if not stagnant about offering forgiveness and help to our fallen brothers and sisters. And when we resist restoration, we hinder the procession of Christ in our communities. We demonstrate that we are no different than others and suggest that the gospel has no power. We start looking and acting like we’ve been outwitted.
None of us wants to be a peddler of a cheap and insufficient gospel. We are commissioned by God to be ambassadors of a new Kingdom. And we must show the world that what we have is true and life-changing. The evidence is in the “us” and the “we,” not in some individualistic view of spirituality.
Maybe today we should pause to see if there is someone we need to forgive and welcome back into our community of faith. It may be the prerequisite to participating in the triumphant procession that Jesus leads.
Your time with God’s Word
2 Corinthians 2:11, 14-17; 3:4-6, 11-12, 16-18, ESV
Photo by Vladislav Vasnetsov from Pexels
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