One man’s loss is another man’s gain. A saying so simple, but can be profound at the same time! Someone may pass on an opportunity, a job, or a relationship with another which allows someone else to truly benefit. I relate it to the current relationship I’m in. The guy I’m dating has told me that he has often found himself in the “friend zone” when it comes to dating. I am so very grateful that they passed on this opportunity to spend time with an amazing man. Their loss was my gain!!


However, what happens when WE lose something so very important to us? How can we attribute it to gain?


What happens if our health deteriorates right before our very own eyes and there is no cure available? I follow Gitzengirl’s blog and am deeply moved every time I read it. She has a disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis. Basically, she has an autoimmune disease that attacks her joints. The goal of the disease it to attack the joints and build scar tissue causing pain and stiffness. Eventually her joints will be fused together. I simply feel defeated just reading about it. Yet, she goes on trusting that God has a plan for her…just as He said He did!! Her loss, physical impairment, is His gain! She is at peace and believes, trusts, accepts life as it is. She is fulfilling who God wants her to be. I call that amazing!!


Philippians 3:8 says, “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”


I have truly experienced loss compacted in 34 small years, but truly can understand that this loss was my gain. I lost my childhood only to find an adulthood that will be used to touch and impact the lives I encounter. I lost my teaching job, my source of income and fulfillment, only to reach out and trust a God that will meet all my needs according to His riches and glory. I lost my credibility (of my profession) in the eyes of others only to find out who I truly am…who I am in Christ! I will believe 100% in myself even when I make mistakes. I’ve had my car stolen, my appendix removed, my women’s ministry taken from me quickly, my heart broken by friends and loved ones, yet my soul prospers!


Everyone has a story whether it be abuse, abandonment, betrayal, failure, or illness. We all suffer things and will continue to suffer. If we don’t accept our loss with a good attitude and heart, we will miss the blessings He brings. Psalm 73:6 says, “No doubt about it! God is good-good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing His goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made; who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.”


Too many times, we miss the blessings because we are focused on the situation/circumstances. It’s all about the negative! What are you focused on today? Can you see what you have gained and be grateful for it, or does loss consume you and bring you down?


I leave you with a few words from Mercy Me’s “Bring the Rain”….
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
when this life brings me pain
but if that’s what it takes to praise you,
Jesus, bring the rain!


Love in Christ,
Nichole