2 Corinthians 2:12-14 ESV 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.
I have taught from these verses and written about them many times over the years, even lately, but I never stop learning from them. The truths that are found in the Scriptures are so life-altering because they are so mind-renewing. Obviously, I am not going to try to speak of all the stunning truths found here, but there is one specific thing that I believe is imperative: We must comprehend if we are going to be protected from a particular scheme of the devil. The scheme of second-guessing.
Throughout your Christian life, you will make thousands of decisions, both small and large, and being able to trust in the perfect leadership of the Lord is absolutely essential so that you do not spend your life in introspection, second-guessing every decision you make.
Paul wrote 2 Corinthians 2 while on his third missionary journey, which is probably five or six years after the events that Paul is referring to in 2 Corinthians 2:12–14. Paul had written a very stinging letter to the Corinthians that was hand-delivered by his spiritual son Titus. Now, he is waiting to meet Titus to hopefully hear that his spiritual children in Corinth have finally repented of the spiritual corruption they were walking in. When Titus did not show up, Paul left, hoping to find him in another city. Verse 12 makes it very clear that Paul came to Troas not just to find Titus but also to preach the gospel, and there was a door open for him in the Lord to do that, but verse thirteen says that Paul had no rest in the spirit since he did not find Titus and as a result of that restlessness in his spirit, he left. Should Paul have stayed since a door was open for him in the Lord to preach the gospel, or was Paul right to leave because he had no rest in the spirit (in other words, leaving seemed to be the right thing to do)
I love it when God speaks to me in dramatic ways, but most of the time, I hear God by loving Him and wanting to do His will. I simply do what seems to be the right thing. Verse fourteen is one of the most important verses in the Bible, and if you understand what Paul is saying here, you will be saved from a lot of torment and unholy introspection. Paul, looking back at this event when he wrote 2 Corinthians, declares, “But thanks be to God, who ALWAYS LEADS US IN HIS TRIUMPH IN CHRIST.” Hear what I’m about to say; you don’t have to trust in your perfect ability to hear God’s voice perfectly all the time. Instead, you can always trust in His perfect leadership. Have you been in a situation where you had to make a choice, and there were several options, and you weren’t sure which one was the right choice, fearful that if you made the wrong choice, the consequences would be bad? Again, hear what I’m telling you; if your heart is yielded to His will as far as you know, then you should absolutely never look back and second-guess because things didn’t turn out the way you thought they would. It’s not about your perfect discernment; it’s about trusting in His perfect leadership. Just because it didn’t turn out the way you thought it would doesn’t mean that it is not God’s will. It means His story is just being told differently through you than you thought it would be. Stop trusting in your perfection, and rest in His. You don’t have to get it perfect. With a yielded heart, you just have to do what seems right and then stand without wavering, confident in His perfect leadership. Paul never second-guessed here. The only thing he was sure of, and it was enough for him, was that because he was in Christ, Jesus was ALWAYS leading him in His triumph.