Fire station life is unique and extremely different than what any 8-5 job has to offer. Think about spending 24 hours at a time with some of the people you work with……without the thought of killing one of them. Within our department you have 3 main ranks that staff each truck or medic unit. There’s the rank of Firefighter – usually younger and just learning what real life is all about. Then you have the Engineer (Driver) – usually late 20s through mid 40s, seasoned and has a wife or ex-wife and kids. The officer on the truck is a Captain (my rank) – usually 20 plus years of service, seen it all and lived it all. Beyond that there’s other ranks but for the purpose of this blog we will keep it at that.

One of my favorite past times as an atheist at the station was to get my believer co-workers worked up. I’d start talking about something that didn’t make sense or challenge their beliefs to the point they’d lose whatever Jesus they had. I know what you’re thinking, “what a jerk”. Look, we spend 240 hrs a month together compared to the typical 160 hrs at an 8-5. Plus, we cook and eat together, sleep in rooms with multiple beds, share bathrooms, and literally trust each other with our lives. There is a LOT of bonding, bickering, teamwork, and picking on each other. Although I enjoyed getting a rise out of them, I respected their beliefs and remained silent when they prayed over our food and other prayers when attending functions. So yes, I was a jerk sometimes, but so was everyone else. I became known throughout the job that I was one of the unbelievers and people would approach me and tell me how dumb I was and that I’m going to Hell (great tactic to gain followers, I know). I got used to it and still enjoyed the theological banter when it came about.

One shift back in 2015 time frame, I was a driver at the time, a Captain brought up the atheism vs Christianity argument. I laughed and played along, challenging him every step of the way. However, this guy was different. He was calm, loving, and took everything I said with a peaceful presence. He was representing the love of Christ, holding true to the word of God and not letting the situation dictate his attitude. Side bar – I didn’t know that there were actually several firemen I worked with actively praying for me and for my salvation up to this point, I found that out after the fact. Anyhow, after all the uproar was over, he took me to the side and said something so bazaar to me, that I thought it was a joke.

“Justin, God has big plans for you, you just don’t know about them yet. I’m going to keep praying for you.”

Captain Joey

It was funny at the time for me because I could never see myself as a man of God. That statement, to which now I believe was a prophecy, was 3 years ahead of my salvation. We can agree to disagree, or we can agree that God specifically used that Captain to speak to me. Otherwise, why would I remember his exact statement over 3 years later, and the fact that it was true? The day I accepted Christ, I called him, of course he didn’t answer, but I left him a voicemail and told him that we were brothers now and thanked him for praying over the years. All he probably heard was me crying, but none the less he called back later, and we celebrated.

Man was he right. God DID have big plans for me! After my heart softened, and I let Jesus in, the Holy Spirit started moving in me in ways I never thought possible. I had a fire within me, and not one I needed to put out. How, why, and where would God use someone like me? I could answer many of those specific questions today, however that’s what the Blog page is for, right!?

God will use who He wants to use. He is patient. He is forgiving. He has plans, His plans not ours.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

Romans 8:28 NLT