THE PRICE IS RIGHT

Image by jgrove via Flickr

BEHIND DOOR NUMBER?

Have you ever watched the game show PRICE IS RIGHT? Contestants are asked to pick a particular number door and guess the cost of the item or items behind it. They can win the contents behind the door only if they are the closest bidder without going over. It's a gamble
Sometimes I think life mimics this. We think we know what we want and arrive at a destination we might have even worked towards only to discover we really don't care much for what is behind the door. Sometimes the choice is not ours. We begin on one road and end up derailed by people, circumstances or events that we truly had little to do with. Someone else comes closer to the actual price of the door we thought we had and all of the sudden our plans change and we being another round of bidding for our reward.

We may be disappointed and confused to find that while we did everything we could to reach the door of our dreams only to find that what we thought would be behind the door was nothing we imagined. It happens everyday.
We might understand why our poor choices or decisions cause us to be in front of a door we didn't want to open but it becomes hard to accept losing something we were unable to control. Maybe a relationship took our lives in a direction we never wanted. Maybe the economy took away our job security and livelihood, maybe a disease or illness compromised our health and left us with few choices behind those doors. Maybe even another person or circumstance that just happened to roll into our path, changed the direction we had hoped for and placed us in front of a door we had no desire to ever see behind.

 We may ask why the door we thought we would get to bid on and were so sure had the showcase of our dreams became a nightmare. Why did we end up with the booby prize, the white elephant, the leftovers?

There probably isn't anyone who hasn't experienced at least one instance of wondering how we could have ended up losing what we thought we had in the bag. But in Hebrews we are told. "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." 

So how much faith does it take to believe something greater is behind the undesirable goods we see when we open that door?

When Katrina hit New Orleans, lives were changed forever. Just like they are when a baby is born, a couple marries, a soldier is killed in action, a tsunami or earthquake occurs, a donor is found, a death row inmate is exonerated, a fire destroys a home, a lottery ticket is a winner, a loved one dies, the chemo fails or the promotion finally becomes reality. Everyday something is looming behind a door that you or I may be asked to open.

I have met people who bring me to my knees when I hear the stories of what was behind their doors and I know that without true faith, like the kind mentioned in Hebrews, they would be far different people than who they are today.

That is amazing faith. Faith I have to ask myself if I truly have. Faith I hope I won't have to demonstrate. Yet, isn't that what we do daily? We go through the motions knowing that at any given moment something that may change our life in a good or a bad way forever can happen. We may be able to help promote or prevent some circumstances from occurring but in the grand scheme of life, we mostly must have faith in things unseen. We need to believe that there really is a purpose to everything if we trust that God is making sure that regardless of whether we had the winning bid or not, we will still have a wonderful showcase.

Whatever door stands in front of you, do you have faith to be sure of what you hoped for even if what you see when you open it does not look at all like what you want?

If you want to read more amazing stories of  profound faith and unfathomable hope, read ONE MORE SERVING,www.onemoreserving.com

 You will never look at what you expect behind any door the same way again.