In 2 Corinthians 2:12-17 Paul takes the time in this passage to praise the Lord at a remarkable time when things where things were not going his way and such praise was unusual. Paul digresses into praise at a time when most wouldn’t. The victorious Christian life is not one of continual victory in overcoming all obstacles. No! It is one of heartache, of deep inner doubts, fighting frustrations without and fears within. It is one of being opposed often, yet confident that the God who is within you is able to work and do His will. The vibrant Christian life is a death march in which the marcher repeatedly dies to self-centeredness. It is this march that Paul enthusiastically proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 15:31, in what would otherwise seem an oxymoron: “I die daily.” Happy is the person who has discovered no freedom in their legalistic religion and no joy in their self-righteousness; all of this has become worthless to them, for now they are “Dying to self to live for Christ!”
