Their names read like a capitalists’ list of Who's Who from the early 1900s: Alfred Vanderbilt, the heir to the shipping and railroad empire, Henry Frick, the Pittsburgh steel baron, J.P. Morgan the Wall Street financier and Milton Hershey, the chocolate manufacturer. They were some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs in the United States and accustomed to going first class in everything. But they missed out on the most exclusive, extravagant travel opportunity of their day.
They had all booked luxurious accommodations aboard the maiden voyage of the Titanic, but for varying reasons beyond their control, they were forced to cancel their reservations. What undoubtedly felt like loss and disappointment at the time, turned out to be a huge win.
You've probably heard of Carl Lewis, the American track and field champion, who won a total of 9 Olympic gold medals from 1984 to 1992. However, he is most remembered for the hundred meter race he ran against Canadian Ben Johnson in the 1988 Olympics. Lewis didn't win that race. In fact, he came in second. But three days later Johnson tested positive for steroids, was stripped of his gold medal, which was then awarded to Lewis along with an Olympic record for the event.
We are all familiar with Jennifer Hudson, who was introduced to the American public on the third season of American Idol in 2004. She went on to debut as an actress in “Dream Girls,” winning an Oscar and Golden Globe for best supporting actress in 2006. And her first album garnered a Grammy in 2008. I think we can all agree she has been immensely successful, but did you know she didn't even place in the top six on American Idol?
All these people are examples of how losing sometimes is actually winning. When we look at life events from our perspective we see and feel our losses, but in retrospect sometimes we understand that our loss was actually a win. A young associate of mine here at HRock Church shared the following story with me.
He was getting ready to graduate and was offered an excellent training opportunity for a possible management position with a prestigious firm. At the end of his training he was actually offered a lucrative entry position. However, in praying about his decision, he felt he needed to refuse the opportunity.
He told me, “I was really disappointed and didn't understand why God would be telling me not to take a position that seemed tailor-made for me. However my refusal led to my career taking a different path, and 6 months later that firm downsized and the position was eliminated.” You see God knew that what looked like a loss was actually a win for that young man.
Did you know that God is looking for losers? Actually He is looking for big losers. He's looking for people who are willing to lay down everything they value in this life to win a life larger than anything they can imagine. Jesus tells us that if we are willing to risk or lose seeming opportunities in our lives at His direction, He will lead us into a life of abundance that is true winning.
Come join us this Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM when we will have a special guest speaker, Brother Yun “The Heavenly Man.” Also, I will be doing a book signing for my new book, the Grace of Giving this Sunday.
Pastor Che
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