Religion Today: The Prize of Patience
Guest Writer Spotlight: The Prize of Patience – By Richard Lewis
I used to sometimes call my wife Sue, from work, just to see how things are going at home. Usually, she seemed to enjoy getting these calls but one day she seemed very angry, which was completely out of character for her. In a very sharp tone of voice she asked, “What do you want? Don’t bother us right now – We’re praying for patience!”
Now, at the same time I could hear a bunch of her friends laughing in the background. It was then I realized that I had called on the morning when several ladies come over to pray and I had interrupted them right as they were praying for patience. From the laughter in the background I could tell that everyone really enjoyed me being the brunt of my wife’s little joke.
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I was reminded me of how often I ask God for patience and I want it NOW! I want to see positive progress in my spiritual life NOW. I want to see victory over the nagging sin of pride in my life NOW. I want to see the people God has allowed me to minister to make progress in their lives NOW.
Often I view adversity as an adversary and don’t realize that it is really a friend. Adversities and problems, that I would love to avoid, eventually bring the good result of growth and patience into my life. I wish that God would wave a magic wand and just grant the patience but things don’t work that way. Unfortunately, patience is gained only by suffering and that is never comfortable.
In the Apostle Paul we have an example of a man who suffered in so many ways. God’s words to Ananias “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” were the beginning of over 30 years of suffering for Paul. He was the victim of assassination plots in Damascus (Acts 9:24) and Jerusalem (Acts 9:29). Driven out of Antioch (Acts 13:50), attempted stoning in Iconium (Acts 14:5) left for dead in Lystra (Acts 14:19). Beaten with rods, put in stocks in Philippi (Acts 16:23-24) and a mob tried to get him in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5) and almost killed him in Ephesus (Acts 19:29). In Jerusalem the Roman soldiers had to rescue him from a mob (Acts 21:40) and he was shipwrecked on Malta only to be bitten by a poisonous snake (Acts 27:27-28:6). He was imprisoned in Caesarea for two years and imprisoned in Rome for two more years and eventually taken to Rome to be executed.
If I were Paul I would wake up each morning wondering what the day was going to be like. What’s it going to be today, God? Is it going to be a stoning or a poisonous snakebite today? It helps to put into perspective when we have a minor health issue or financial worries.
Paul could have been really bitter about all this but the exact opposite was true. He was a great example of a man who suffered tremendously but that suffering produced all kinds of qualities in his life such as patience, character and hope. May we embrace and rejoice in suffering like Paul did and allow it complete its work in us. May we be willing to go through the process of difficulties to receive the prize, which will be the growth in patience we all seek.
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Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Richard Lewis is a graduate of Arizona State University (Advertising) and California Baptist University (Computer Information Systems). Richard and his wife Sue met while they served as staff members at Campus Crusade for Christ for 8 years in the 1970’s. Richard served in the Campus Ministry at University of Texas at El Paso, Louisiana Tech and at the International Headquarters in San Bernardino, California.
Following their ministry in Campus Crusade Richard was the owner and manager of a bicycle shop in Riverside California for 19 years. After retraining in the computer field at California Baptist University, Richard worked as a Information Systems contractor and employee at Boeing for 17 years. Richard has written over 150 published articles in Information Systems and Computing publications including Windows Magazine and Windows Scripting Solutions. Richard has served in a leadership role as a Deacon and Elder in several churches as well as being a meditation presenter and Men’s Ministry coordinator.
Richard has written hundreds of meditations and devotionals that have been used in church and small group meetings. Many of these have been published in The Upper Room and Racers For Christ publications and on their web sites.
In 2021 Richard published a collection of his devotionals. These are available in a Kindle and paperback format on Amazon (ISBN 979-8705738878) “Life Stories to Uplift and Encourage”.
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Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.
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