Are You Insured?
“And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:24-27)
Storms can be pretty devastating. They can do some major damage to things that are not tied down or protected. If we fail to have some type of emergency warning system put into play and plan for emergencies, we won’t know when the storms will hit nor will we be ready for them. In my years as a disaster service worker, I have seen the effects of storms and fires and the damage they can cause. I have seen mobile home parks completely wiped out with no mobile homes to be found once a tornado had hit. I have seen the effect of fires on homes and how, in a matter of minutes, everything is gone. Of course, we can’t protect everything in a storm but we can have a plan in place and insurance to cover us in the event a storm or fire hits, and damages or destroys what we own. If we don’t, then we take a major loss.
What about the storms of life though? Is it possible to have a plan in place and have insurance for coverage when the storms of life hit? What coverage could we possibly have when these storms hit and we go through turmoil such as losing a job, getting a divorce, physical or verbal abuse, addiction, incarceration, or going through the loss of a loved one? What coverage could possibly protect us from or through all of this? There is only one, and His name is Jesus. In the physical, we could do everything possible to prevent damage from storms but that doesn’t mean there won’t be times where the storm is stronger and can damage or destroy everything in its path.
In these times, this is where our coverage, Jesus, comes into play. As we see in the scripture above, Jesus can calm the most violent of storms bringing peace to the situation. First we have to understand what insurance is. A couple of the definitions of insurance from the dictionary states the following:
Coverage by contract in which one party agrees to indemnify or reimburse another for loss that occurs under the terms of the contract.
Any means of guaranteeing against loss or harm
The insurance company provides us the support we need to help us get back on our feet. They provide the funds needed to either fix what is damaged, to purchase what is lost, or to assist in starting over. Yes, there is a cost to having insurance as we must pay yearly premiums, but having the insurance brings peace of mind in case anything happens to our homes, properties and sometimes ourselves. As long as we abide by the insurance agreement, we will be covered. When we accept Jesus into our hearts and receive His salvation, He is our coverage, our insurance. Although we follow His word, the Bible, and follow what He tells us to do to protect ourselves, this doesn’t mean we won’t face any storms or go through any trials. It doesn’t mean there won’t be damage or we won’t lose things in the process…loved ones, marriages, finances, jobs, etc. What it does mean is that we will have His coverage. There will be times when a storm should have damaged or destroyed us but it didn’t. There will be times our relationships will be rocky or even fall apart but depending on the situation, Christ can restore it or simply have us walk through it to further strengthen us and increase our faith. There will even be times our loss may seem so great that we just aren’t sure how we will get through it. We could even go off in the wrong direction and suffer the consequences, yet He will still be there trying to guide us back in the right direction, leading us back to the path. Whatever the situation, when we come to Jesus, we know that no matter what happens, He will not only see us through it, He will provide for us and restore us.
Is there a cost for Christ’s coverage, His salvation? Yes and no. Salvation is free, a gift:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Ephesians 2:8
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
But there is a cost as Jesus explains in Luke 14:26-33:
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
So what does this mean? It means there will be a cost to accepting Christ…we may lose friends and family who disagree with our acceptance of Christ and will try to talk us out of it. This is where we must love Christ more than them (which is hard for some to do) and accept and follow Him regardless. It means we may be hurt, mocked, ridiculed or persecuted for our faith, sometimes even by fellow believers. It means we will be targeted by the enemy, Satan, through temptation, trials, difficulties, etc. These are all costs to receiving Christ and becoming saved, but the promises of His salvation far outweighs the cost of following Him:
Through Jesus we receive deliverance from our enemies – “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.” John 5:18
Through Jesus we receive mercy – But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. Titus 3:4-6
Through Jesus we are reconciled to God – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Through Jesus we have guidance – I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. John 16:12-14
Through Jesus we have eternal life – “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
These are but a few of the promises of coming to Christ. There is also love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, restoration, healing, comfort, companionship, etc. What we desired from others but were unable to obtain, Jesus provides. Some never experienced the love of a parent, but Jesus provides that love. Some never had stability in their lives, yet Jesus can provide it. Some never felt good enough to do anything because others constantly ridiculed them, but Jesus sees our worth. Who else would die for us as He did?
When we come to Christ, we can stop running and finally find the rest we so desire.
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
If you are seeking love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, rest…come to Jesus. If you are seeking freedom from the past…come to Jesus. If you are seeking broken chains to bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, negative thoughts, addictions, rejection, unworthiness, anxiety, depression and more…come to Jesus. There is no jumping through hoops. Simply confess your sins, tell Him you believe He died on the cross for you, accept Him as your Lord and Savior, repent and turn away from wrong doing and begin living the way He tells us to according the Word…the Bible.
He’s waiting for you.