I was fortunate enough to go to New Orleans for the day on Friday. It was a nice change of scenery that I needed. Biloxi, Mississippi is nice in its own right, but I needed a break. I went with a classmate of mine and our agenda was pretty clear. We wanted to see the famous “Bourbon Street” and look around the historic French Quarter and be back in Biloxi by dinner time. We were successful and we had a good time. As we were driving to New Orleans, I noticed that regardless of what the speed limit sign said (45 MPH for this example) I was the only vehicle abiding by it. If you remember my last note, I was going to write about patience, but was having a bit of a writer’s blockage episode so I wrote about the essentials of prayer instead. Well, thanks to those speeding cars, I now think I can talk a little bit about patience.
Now let me preface this by saying I have sped before and I’ve even met a Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff because of my speeding. When I was in England, those famous speed cameras caught me. But, I generally don’t speed…maybe 5 MPH over the limit, tops. The underlying question I guess would be why do we speed? I know that it’s because we want to get somewhere faster. But exactly how much faster will we arrive if we speed?
I guess calculating how much faster you’ll arrive somewhere differs by how much you go over the speed limit. But, I would guess on average you would probably arrive 1-10 minutes sooner, maybe a little more or less. What do we get out of being so impatient (e.g. why were those cars so adamant about getting around my 45 MPH-going vehicle)? Why can’t we just accept the hand we’ve been dealt and go with the flow? Perhaps we ignore God’s plan and instead entertain our own self-centered ideas. Before we can fully answer that question, we must define what patience is. The dictionary defines patience as: quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience. I like the second part of that definition: “steady perseverance.”
Galatians 5:22-23 states: “22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control…” The “fruit of the Spirit” refers to the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. So really in order to have true patience, you must first have a relationship with God. I know what you’re thinking…you already have true patience and don’t have a relationship with God. Well, I would argue that you don’t really have true patience then. Do you deep down mumble under your breath at that person driving their vehicle the speed limit forcing you to speed around it? That’s not true patience. Patience doesn’t come overnight, either. It takes work to become a patient person. I work on my patience every day and I still haven’t “mastered” it. So how do you maintain patience during difficult times? The Bible tells us in James 1:3-4: “3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
It appears that we’re heading back to the definition of patience, doesn’t it? You see, we will always have times in our life where things get shaken up a bit. These trials that you’re facing are all part of God’s plan to help you develop perseverance. Perseverance not only deepens your faith, but it strengthens our patience. Remember what I said earlier, in order to have true patience, you must first have a relationship with God. Do you have a relationship with God right now? Is your life as full as it could be? Do you have an abundant amount of patience? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, you may need to have a talk with Jesus.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Blessings,
Jeremy
Now let me preface this by saying I have sped before and I’ve even met a Lincoln County Deputy Sheriff because of my speeding. When I was in England, those famous speed cameras caught me. But, I generally don’t speed…maybe 5 MPH over the limit, tops. The underlying question I guess would be why do we speed? I know that it’s because we want to get somewhere faster. But exactly how much faster will we arrive if we speed?
I guess calculating how much faster you’ll arrive somewhere differs by how much you go over the speed limit. But, I would guess on average you would probably arrive 1-10 minutes sooner, maybe a little more or less. What do we get out of being so impatient (e.g. why were those cars so adamant about getting around my 45 MPH-going vehicle)? Why can’t we just accept the hand we’ve been dealt and go with the flow? Perhaps we ignore God’s plan and instead entertain our own self-centered ideas. Before we can fully answer that question, we must define what patience is. The dictionary defines patience as: quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence: to work with patience. I like the second part of that definition: “steady perseverance.”
Galatians 5:22-23 states: “22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control…” The “fruit of the Spirit” refers to the spontaneous work of the Holy Spirit in us. So really in order to have true patience, you must first have a relationship with God. I know what you’re thinking…you already have true patience and don’t have a relationship with God. Well, I would argue that you don’t really have true patience then. Do you deep down mumble under your breath at that person driving their vehicle the speed limit forcing you to speed around it? That’s not true patience. Patience doesn’t come overnight, either. It takes work to become a patient person. I work on my patience every day and I still haven’t “mastered” it. So how do you maintain patience during difficult times? The Bible tells us in James 1:3-4: “3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
It appears that we’re heading back to the definition of patience, doesn’t it? You see, we will always have times in our life where things get shaken up a bit. These trials that you’re facing are all part of God’s plan to help you develop perseverance. Perseverance not only deepens your faith, but it strengthens our patience. Remember what I said earlier, in order to have true patience, you must first have a relationship with God. Do you have a relationship with God right now? Is your life as full as it could be? Do you have an abundant amount of patience? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, you may need to have a talk with Jesus.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Blessings,
Jeremy