But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. – 2 Corinthians 2:14
Helen Adams Keller was born in Alabama in June 1880. When she was 19 months old, she lost both her sight and hearing from a bout of illness. Undeterred as a teenager and adult, she used her remaining senses to master language, including reading and writing. She would ultimately attend Radcliffe College and earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University. Of her acute sense of smell, she said, “It’s a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived. The odors of fruits waft me to my southern home, to my childhood frolics in the peach orchard. Other odors, instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief. Even as I think of smells, my nose is full of scents that start to awake sweet memories of summers gone and ripening fields far away.”
It would never have been in the plans of Helen Keller’s parents for her to lose both her sight and hearing, yet her story of overcoming has been featured in movies and documentaries. Plans can get disrupted. In today’s account in 2 Corinthians, the plans of the Apostle Paul had fallen apart. Theologian Warren Wiersbe writes, “Where was Titus? What was going on at Corinth? Paul had open doors of ministry at Troas, but he had no peace in his heart to walk through those doors. Humanly speaking, it looked like the end of the battle, with Satan as the victor. Except for one thing: Paul had a conquering faith!” Out of his trust in the Lord and the assurances he had that God’s plans were never wrong, the apostle was able to break out in the song of praise that is today’s verse.
When Roman legions returned from a successful battle, they were honored with garlands of flowers covering them with sweet fragrances. In the streets and in the pagan temples would be the smell of burning incense. That image was in Paul’s mind as his confidence leaned into the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Jesus! The result was praise and gratitude. The next time you walk through the perfume section of a department store, remember the sweetness and fragrance of your faith in Jesus and His power to overcome disappointments and changes in plans. Thank Him for the sweetness of knowing Him and His continual presence with you.
Today’s Verse: 2 Corinthians 2:14
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: 2 Corinthians 2:12-3:4
12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, 16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God’s word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
