Patience
Good Morning from the road. We are in the Sunshine State for some racing, dirt, asphalt, short track, superspeedway, you name it we’ll be there to serve the racing community. As we continue our look at God’s character traits we focus on patience. Don’t pray for it, God will put you in situations that require it. Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Patience, something we all could use a little more of. The other day I was in the donut shop, standing in line, waiting my turn patiently. Then it happened a short, skinny guy cut to the front placed his order and away he went. That was pretty risky, cutting in front of a fat guy in the donut line. I don’t know what he was thinking but it took all my composure not to go after him.
There are times in life when patience pays dividends. I remember a race at Monadnock with the Whelen Modified Tour, a 200 lap event. They ran 200 laps without a caution. What a race, you could see it play out. The pole sitter started out steady and clearly had a plan. When a faster car passed him he didn’t change his strategy. He patiently waited and continued on his plan, falling back as far as third.
His patience paid off, the faster cars planned on a caution, but none came. Slowly he climbed back to the lead as the others faded. He took the checkered, winning the race with a patient strategy.
That isn’t always the case, but most times in life patience will pay off with a reward. Most times it keeps our foot out of our mouth. We tend to jump to conclusions without first taking a step back and looking things over, thinking things through. I am grateful God is patient with me.
Romans 2:4 (NLT), Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
Paul points out three character traits of God in this verse that we should be thankful for; Kindness, Patience and Tolerance. We have talked about kindness, which is God’s grace, his gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
We’ll talk about tolerance next week. Today read this story and see if we show others the same patience that God shows us.
So one day He was at a traffic light, patiently waiting for it to turn green. The fellow in front seemed to be paying attention, but was deep in thought. The light turned green, he didn’t move. Beeping, yelling, waving hands, telling him he is number one, nothing worked. As the light turned yellow the fellow in front looked up, saw it and sped through.
As he fumed, shook his fist and beat the dash of the car he noticed the cop behind him, lights flashing. He pulled over. The officer approached; “out of the car please”. He was cuffed and brought into the station.
After some time the officer came back and was apologetic. I am sorry sir, I was sure you stole that car. Puzzled he asked. “Why?”
The officer explained he watched the whole scene, all his antics, colorful language and hand gestures. The officer then noticed the Christian bumper stickers on the car. That didn’t add up. Surely the driver couldn’t be a Christian. He certainly didn’t display the character traits of God.
We never know who is watching. We never know who is following our example. It is important to reflect the character of God if we claim to be His. Think about that this week and I’ll be back next week to look further into God’s character.
Until next time, remember God loves you and Jesus is Lord over Auto Racing! God Bless. Remember, that your prayerful support helps us continue this ministry. Thank You.
Sources; Reverand Don Rivers/RWJM