By now you’ve seen the clip. La La Land was announced as the recipient of the 2017 Oscar for Best Picture. Cast and crew climbed up to the stage. There were smiles all around. Nearly all the speeches had been given. Then the bombshell dropped. The wrong envelope was opened and read. The true winner of the 2017 Oscar for Best Picture was Moonlight. The cast and crew of La La Land awkwardly filed off the stage. It’s tough to be on the losing end…especially when you thought you won.

Can you imagine being in that position? I bet you can. You’ve been in that position. You thought you were getting the promotion. Then someone else got it. You thought the check up was going to be fine. Then you discovered you were going to have to have surgery. You were on the favored team. Suddenly you found yourself on the losing end.

It feels horrible. No one likes to lose. Especially if you thought you were going to win.

I’m sure the cast and crew of La La Land are still trying to get over the disappointment and “what ifs.” But a little maturity and a little historical perspective after the passing of time will show us how losing can actually be winning.

I would suggest that losing can provide for you these wins:

• Learning how to be a gracious loser…is a win.
• Observing something the winners did that you didn’t…is a win.
• Seeing God’s grace at work when losing takes you in a surprisingly unexpected direction…is a win.
• Discovering that you have deeper and more enduring character…is a win.
• Finding an opportunity to try again with new lessons learned…is a win.

What surprising thing have you learned and discovered from losing?