There are many stress-relievers in God's Word. On this page, we will be looking at different verses each week.

" Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy..."

I sit here writing to you today as a wiser... okay, older... person. Yesterday was my forty-sixth birthday. I was thinking back over my life and as I remembered by life B.C. (that is: before Christ was my REAL CHIEF), I tried to recall what beliefs I held. I probably believed that I could do anything. That's it... I believed in me. Man, was I wrong... so wrong.

Now, as we enter the period known as "Advent" (that is, the days prior to the celebration of Christ's birth), I am sitting here contemplating my beliefs A.D. (after death of my old self).

The family and I were sitting around watching "The Santa Clause" - you know, the one where Tim Allen becomes the "new" Santa Claus. In the movie, Tim questions his son about believing in Santa. His son said, "Dad, it's not what you can see that you can believe, it's what you believe that you can see."

Now, he was talking to his dad about believing in Santa. I am talking about believing in our REAL CHIEF. I'm talking about a belief so strong that no one can take it away from me.

How about the atheist who says, "How can you believe in God? You can't see Him, you can't touch Him!" To which I would reply, "Do you believe in love?" Of course, even the atheist would most likely say "yes"! Then our reply would be this: "How can you believe in love... you can't SEE it, you can't TOUCH it!"

The little boy in the movie tonight answered one doubter like this; "Have you ever seen a million dollars?" ...and the doubter said "no"... the boy answered "just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there!"

I may be older, but I also trust that I am wiser - and then only inasmuch as I believe what this week's verse tells me - that because of the belief HE has filled me with, I am joyful and that I love Him.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

WHEW! ...thanks in all circumstances? That's what our REAL CHIEF tells us. He tells us to always be joyful, always be praying and always give thanks. Hmmmm.

I don't know, Lord. There have been so many times in my life that I wasn't very thankful. Come to think of it, I wasn't joyful all the time, either.... oh, and I must admit, there are times I forget to pray.

Have you ever had that conversation with our REAL CHIEF? I have. And, it seems I have it again right around every Thanksgiving Day. Now, I really do have SO much to be thankful for. But, thankful for everything?

God, how about the time I worked so hard doing CPR on the little boy who was hit by the car? ...and he died? How can I be thankful for that? Or, how about the time we spent trying to extricate the young woman from what was left of her car that was totaled by the drunk driver? ...and she died? Or how about the time we rolled up on the car fire... and someone was trapped inside and we just couldn't get to them? How are we supposed to be thankful?

I think the answer from our REAL CHIEF lies within this weeks verse. And we have to remember to follow commands in their entirety. What I mean is this... I don't believe we can be thankful in all circumstances unless we learn to be joyful and prayerful, too. That, you see, would be following the whole command.

Now, I also believe that God doesn't want us to be joyful about someone's death... HE wants us to be joyful Followers. If we are joyful believers and we have a strong prayer life, we will be able to believe, to trust, that HIS plan for the situation is being carried out. And, when we get to the point where we can honestly do this, it is then that we will be able to give thanks, no matter what the circumstances. The reason is this: we will be giving thanks to our Creator that His Will is being done. We may not understand the "why" of the situation, but HE does.

Let's learn to obey all of the CHIEF'S commands. Because then, and only then, can we truly give thanks in all circumstances.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Have you ever been in the over-turned, mangled mess of steel and plastic that used to be a car? AND, it's about 25 degrees? AND it's sleeting? AND it's three o'clock in the morning? You are examining your patient and know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that the person is dead. You now know that your role will be to assist in the recovery of what used to be a human being who thought it was no big thing to close the bar up with his buddies and then to try and drive home. You're cold, you're wet, you're sleepy and you start to say to yourself, "I shouldn't be here."

Or, have you ever worked your rearend off in a structure fire, risking your own life, only to find the semi-cremated remains of a crack-head who started the fire? Again, you might say to yourself, "I shouldn't be here."

Or, have you ever found yourself in a job that you don't appreciate? Or, working for a tyrannical boss? Again, "I shouldn't be here."

Or, maybe your relationship is going sour? Again, you start saying to yourself, "I shouldn't be here."

Allow me to be bearer of some news from our REAL CHIEF. "Yes, you should be there. And, yes, you should be there at that exact moment. Learn to trust Me. Learn to listen to Me. Learn to understand that there is MY PLAN."

Many times, in what we perceive to be bad circumstances, we feel like we are not where we are supposed to be. You know, when things aren't going our way? But, when you can stop and truly trust and ask God to show you why you are there, HE will begin to use you.

For example, in the overturn accident, one of your crew might be watching to see how you handle yourself because they know you are a follower of our REAL CHIEF. Same in the crackhouse fire... or the job.... well, you get my point. One time, I was in the emergency room with a family member (off duty, if you will) at midnight. Instead of saying, "I shouldn't be here," I trusted the it was all a part of HIS plan for the minute. Guess what happened. They wheeled a lady in to the waiting area in a wheelchair. She saw my fire department shirt on me that says "CHAPLAIN" and asked me if I knew a good Christian counselor! I sat down next to that woman and gave the her the card of a friend of mine who is a Christian counselor and asked her if I could help. She began to cry and tell me of her troubles and briefly of her terminal illness. She needed a believer to talk to at midnight, in a busy emergency room, on a Saturday. I only got to talk to her for about five or six minutes. But, GOD knew that HE needed me at that moment and at that particular emergency room.

The triage nurse made it a point and came up to me after they had wheeled the woman into the e.r. He simply said, "thank you for your intervention."

I can truly say that I didn't say, "I shouldn't be here." I was there. And I was so glad to see HIM use me to touch others with HIS love.

From now on, simply trust that our REAL CHIEF has the perfect plan for your life, too. AND, that HE will put that plan into action in HIS time, not ours. When you can do this, you will no longer say "I shouldn't be here." Instead will say, "I can't wait to see what the CHIEF has in store for this moment."

" Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."

We are so privileged to live in a country where we are given the freedom to choose those who will run our government. Tuesday, November 7th, is called "Super Tuesday." I think it is "super" that we are given the right to vote for our next president!

Our verse this week is a reminder that our REAL CHIEF votes, too! This should be a source of comfort - knowing that the Creator of everything has the final and perfect vote.

I want everyone who reads this to exercise your right to vote... AND, I want you to vote with power. How do you "vote with power?" Like this;

As far as the vote for the next President goes, I am not going to sit here and tell you who you should vote for. I can tell you who I plan on voting for. One of the candidates is standing on the platform for "pro choice" - the right for a woman to have an abortion. The other candidate is "pro life" and feels abortion is the taking of a life.

Guess who I am voting for? Yep. You see, I know our REAL CHIEF is "pro life." Why, HE even said, "I am the way, the truth and THE LIFE...".

I don't know about you, but I think I will vote with God on this coming election day. THAT'S voting with power!

It is my prayer that the verses we discuss help each of you as it has helped me deal with the amount of stress we are all faced to deal with. If you are not yet saved, I have Good News for you. Jesus loves you very much and His Holy Spirit is drawing you to Him. To learn more, click here.

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