When Losing is Winning

Watching Olympic figure skaters can be a nail-biting experience. As they prepare for high leaps, turns and spins, you hold your breath. Will they make it? Will they fall?
Sadly, falls will come. Points will be lost. But the program isn’t over as long as the skater recovers and continues. You can be sure the performer will be working on that element to assure future success!
In the world of competition, winning is everything. But in the Christian life, losing can be winning! This is how the Apostle Paul saw it:
“But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7,8).
Paul was willing to abandon worldly success to gain an eternal prize. He understood that one can gain the world and lose his own soul. He chose to forget the past and to press forward. Losing can be winning when we learn from our mistakes, redirect our energies, and focus on what really matters. Stumbling blocks can  become stepping stones to even greater victories.