Righteousness - Don't Worry, You're Covered!
Let me close out our discussion of righteousness with a story from a few years back. This illustrates the concept that I've come to call "The Believer's Bill of Rights" - as well as why so many people are living below these rights.
Facing A Problem...
I used to have a co-worker in the Quality Office that I was employed in - we'll call him Joe. Joe wasn't actually an employee in the Quality Department - he was a maintenance technician. He came to work in my office after a back injury restricted him to light duty.
This man was a fellow believer, and we often discussed spiritual matters while we worked. Although we disagreed on some doctrines (Joe was a Baptist), there was genuine dialogue between us...fueled by his strong desire to grow in faith. Often, we would pray together for different people in the shop, and see dramatic results as those prayers were answered!
But Joe was under an enormous amount of pressure from his back injury. It was common to come into the office and see him depressed over his ongoing struggle. The pain from the injury persisted, and affected every part of his daily life. And to make matters even worse, his physical problems were beginning to cause some serious financial issues for he and his wife.
I'd try to encourage him and remind him that God had issues well in hand. I would show him Biblical examples of how faith in God's care would always bring about great victories for His people. I would tell him, "The only way this won't work out in your favor is if you take it out of God's hands."
Not Covered On His Own...
You see, the biggest problem Joe was facing was his insurance coverage. At the time, his insurance at work wasn't all that great. We were at a smaller company, and the insurance plans were "bare-bone specials." It was just enough coverage to say, "I have insurance" - while still not really doing you any good.
First, there was a high deductible on his initial hospital visits. The cost of his hospital bills drained he and his wife of any funds they had on hand at the time. These bills turned into oppressive debt that sucked money away from every single check he brought home.
Second, his coverage wouldn't pay for any kind of rehabilitation or therapy for his back. This meant he wasn't getting any better or stronger physically. Every day, he would waddle into work, and struggle to sit at his borrowed desk while pain was shooting down his spine.
Of course, this ongoing health problem also kept him confined to light duty work in the Quality Department. This meant his normal maintenance hours (including overtime every week) were cut back to a normal 40-hour work week...which kept him deep in debt, with no extra income to help him out.
Every day, he would face the same pressure.
And every day, this struggle would show on his face.
Although I would pray with him about the situation - he had no reason to believe that anything would change.
...But Covered Through Another
And then one day, I came into work and everything was different. Joe was actually smiling! He was still hobbling around with pain. He still had the posture of a man with a bad back. But he was happy! I had to know: "Joe, what's up? You look to be in a great mood!"
All the stress, all the pain, all the fear, and all the lack that Joe had walked through in the previous months was blown away with one statement: "We found out that I'm covered by my wife's insurance!"
For some reason, they had assumed that his insurance was the only one that would cover him...so they struggled trying to pay for things themselves when his insurance failed. But his wife actually had a much better insurance plan through her job, and all of those benefits extended to her spouse! Ironically, these benefits were available to Joe all along!
These benefits included two things:
Complete coverage for the deductibles on his plan
And the vast majority of rehab costs - leaving him only a small co-pay per visit.
Now he was free to get on with his recovery; both physically and financially. In fact....it actually worked out that all of their previous medical bills were going to be paid back to them by her insurance company!
Are YOU Taking Advantage Of Your Rights?
Here's what's so amazing about this:
1 - Nothing had actually changed yet. He was still hurting and in debt when he came into work that day. But he was excited! Why? Because he discovered what he was entitled to!
2 - He was covered all along! Joe never had to go into debt. He never had to suffer so long without starting his recovery. If only he had known the true position he was in, he never would've had to suffer like he did.
When he told me this, the Lord showed me something as clear as day: Believers around the world are doing exactly the same thing. Because of the righteousness we've been given, we are entitled to all of the promises God gave in His Word. But we're being kept out of them...not by any outside force, but by our own ignorance! Like Joe, we have no idea that we're covered!
All of this is included in our "righteousness plan":
Physical health
Emotional stability
Wisdom and direction
And yet, just like an insurance plan, you still have to make the claim. You have to know your rights, and then take hold of them. Otherwise you'll end up living a life far below what you're entitled to - just like Joe.
We all know that the rights to abundant life aren't covered under our own righteousness. But it's time to discover that we are fully covered under Someone else's plan!
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