As I was driving this morning, I got behind a vehicle that was moving a little slower than I desired but there was nothing I could do. I could not pass because the speed limit was 30MPH. To be honest, we were probably going 30MPH. Nevertheless, it seemed too slow for my liking. I guess I could have honked the horn, but that would have been a little overboard for this situation. So, I just hunkered down at their pace, keeping an appropriate distance between us until they turned a different direction.

Often, God has placed pace cars in front of me to slow me down. Looking back, I am thankful because it’s obvious if I had moved at the speed I wanted, I would have ended up in trouble or missed some great opportunities. I could have married the wrong the person. I could have taken the wrong job and I could have ended up at the wrong place.  

As I study my Bible, I’m not the only one God placed a pace car in front of. Moses was on the fast track to delivering Israel from Egypt, but an unfortunate incident put him on the back side of the desert for forty years. By the time God was ready to use him, he didn’t feel ready to be used but actually he was more prepared.

Joseph was on the fast track for fame and power after he received his dreams, but God put a pace car in front of him. It would be 17 years before his dream became a reality. The 17 years of yielding to God’s pace car prepared him greatly. Until the time that his word came the word of the Lord tried him – Psalms 105:19

Our youngest daughter use to love riding her bike out ahead of us, but we had to put the breaks on her when she started to run through stop signs without looking.

Maybe the Lord has put a pace car in front of you? You are struggli

ng with patience, but God knows it is best if you go slower right now. It may be a big financial decision. It may be a relationship decision. It may be a job opportunity or the desire to relocate. Whatever it is, let patience have her perfect work. God knows best and it’s His kindness that prevents us from experiencing everything we want when we’re not ready for it.

Having said this, I must confess. I have, at times, drove ahead of God’s pace car. I’ve made some decisions that have cost me dearly.  I remember cleaning out gutters to make a little extra cash on the weekends. It was a cold November evening. I had finished the West side of a large house on Washington Blvd. By the time to I got to the East side, it was dark and difficult to see inside the gutter. The gutter was filled with ice. I had been taking the backside of my Estwing hammer to pull the ice out. It was coming out in large chunks and I thought this is going be easy. The only problem was, I couldn’t really see what I was doing. I was guessing as I swung my hammer into the gutter. Rather than wait and finish the next day, I chose to get it done that evening. The following day, I got a phone call from the owner informing me I had put holes in his newly installed 6” copper guttering. It was a $2000 loss all because I was in a hurry.

There is nothing wrong with pursuing your desires, but be careful not to run ahead of God’s pace car.