Medical Insurance

Medical Insurance

I would like to ask a question for your input. This issue is not one we can go to the scriptures for a definitive answer. I have been wrestling with this issue and am still about as far from a conclusion as can be.

I am 64 and in April I will be 65. Uncle Sam is very much aware of this upcoming birthday. By then it is expected I will sign up for Medicare. In addition to this there are companies who are pressuring us to also buy supplements to this program.

My question is should I really do it?

For many years we have lived without medical insurance. The LORD has blessed us with excellent health. If no one had more health problems then we do, the medical profession would practicably cease to exist. Oh, sure we have gotten sick, but we pray and the LORD has either healed us or shown us what we needed to do to restore health, like make changes in our lifestyle. The worse health problem I have had in the past was my susceptibility to pneumonia which I have been now vaccinated for. Presently, I battle arthritis, but under the Holy Spirit's leading I asked for and received annointing in June. Now, it seems to be on the wane. I am saying this because I think it is important for you to understand that we are quite healthy people for our age. We do go to doctors if we are really sick but we ask the LORD first and if the problem is persistent we seek medical attention.

I know ones health can change quickly, of that I am very much aware - I am familair with my grandparents medical history...

But why should I be treated so I can grow real old, like in the nineties, so I can get Alzheimers? (Two uncles and one aunt, different sides of the family, had it.)

If I succumb to buying this additional supplement is it not giving the devil room to afflict me? So far we have trusted the LORD for healing, health and He has been faithful. (I have also been healed of carpel tunnel syndrome.)

If I were to die from a heart attack (which could easily happen), that would OK. Who wants to live in this frightful world, anyways? I have the mindset that Richard Wurmbrand had when he said that if God wants you alive, not even Communist torture can kill you.

To submit to medical treatment to keep the body alive when its outcome is dubious at best seems to me a waste of resourses and lack of trust in the LORD. My sister, who is an RN, says there are many old folks in ICU who will never recover but are there for treatment. So who pays? Insurance, including the gov.

To prolong life for its own sake misses the point, IMO. I have seen where people have taken great measures to do so only to be left with an handicapped person to tend to. This causes untold stress to the victims and the caregivers. And I do NOT want to be in this position: if I am terminally ill, let me go in peace, please - even if I am not seventy YO.

These are my thoughts, ideas I have been wrestling with. Can anyone share some insights that I am missing? Do not be afraid of saying what you think...I know I will be responcible for the decision I make, no one else will be. I just want someone to enlighten be on something I may be blind to.

Has GOD provided you with the means to
cover the cost of the insurance??
If so, I would keep the insurance.

Unless you desire to give the expense
of the insurance to further the gospel
and the work of the kingdom of GOD.

In which case, there is no doubt GOD will
care and provide happiness and health to you.

Medicare doesn't cost anything (As far as I understand: not there yet). At least keep that. And you should not have any treatments if you do not need them, but it may be good to have checkups and some tests to catch and prevent some diseases. If you need them, you will be thankful (and your family) if something was caught in time to bring healing. Remember, God has given man the ability to discover and promote healing to help His creation.

You may be in your 60's, but God may want you here longer to reach others for Him.

I would say that no one but the Holy Spirit can lead you in this area.

Also, if you have successfully believed God for health all of these years then why would you think that you would not be able to continue believing God.

God may have us live in this "frightful" world till we are in our nineties. It is not about us or our will but about others and His will.

There are known causes of Alzheimer's and God can give you wisdom regarding how to take care of yourself. It seems that the Lord has done a pretty good job so far. You are blessed to have no health problems at 64. You have proven God over and over and you should be so optimistic about the future and teaching others what the Lord has taught you.

In Christ,
Sarah

Hi Ginny,

I can relate to what you are saying that the Lord is faithful to keep us and to deliver us.

What you do about your insurance is between you and your husband as you seek the Lord for His will to be done. I can relate my own experience to you that may be of some help.

In the early 70's my wife and I were saved and we both were taught that we could believe God for the healing of our bodies. For about 35 years I was blessed with very good health and was rarely sick. With my wife it was a very different situation. She has had many physical infirmites over the past 40 years, and I am thankful that I had good insurance that covered most of the medical expenses. Then this past year I was hit with a severe infection in my foot, 5 cracked ribs from a fall, and a diagnosis of prostate cancer. We trusted the Lord for all of these physical infirmities and also got some medical help. I praise God that He has provided for these medical expenses through good insurance that the company that I work for provides at a very reasonable rate.

Our trust must be in the Lord for every aspect of our lives, and that includes on what we do about seeking medical help and insurance. I have known Christians that haved died at the hands of men practicing medicine. I also know of Christians that have been healed and kept by the Lord as they have trusted Him as their great physician and healer. Praise God that He gives us wisdom and leads us on the right path as we don't rely on our own understanding but seek and acknowledge God in all of our ways.

Mike

Medicare is not 'free'. My husband pays for it each month but it is removed from his Social Security check. I am not sure how much it is, around $100, I think. It is buying the supplements I am having a serious problem with. When you do the math it makes little sense at all. But then our research may not have been thorough enough, but what little I saw had me gasping in shock!

Deleted - sorry!

Sarah wrote:
"I would say that no one but the Holy Spirit can lead you in this area.

Also, if you have successfully believed God for health all of these years then why would you think that you would not be able to continue believing God."

Mike wrote:
"What you do about your insurance is between you and your husband as you seek the Lord for His will to be done."

This is the conclusion I am coming to.

Years ago we were about to buy a certain kind of insurance. We were just ready to sign the papers when the LORD told me I should trust Him and not buy this insurance. Then I told Him that if He does not want us to do so, He is going to have to tell my husband because I am not about to do so! Not long after my husband came to me and said, "Honey, somehow I just do not feel right in pursuing this...." This incident came to mind as I was mulling it over in my mind...but am looking for confirmation that this is what God has in mind for me/us.

Mike wrote:
"I have known Christians that haved died at the hands of men practicing medicine. I also know of Christians that have been healed and kept by the Lord as they have trusted Him as their great physician and healer. Praise God that He gives us wisdom and leads us on the right path as we don't rely on our own understanding but seek and acknowledge God in all of our ways."

I have seen too many times where man has had access to the finest medical treatment only to die from it still. All medicine did was prolong the dying process and I promise you this is no fun for anyone except for those who stand to benefit financially from it!

Thank-you, Mike for sharing your testimony. May God bless you and your wife. I wish you the LORD's blessings as you deal with your infirmities. It is like they say, "Ageing is not for sissies!" :-)

ginnyrose

And to be balanced, I have seen Christian families withhold medical treatment from members of their family and they died when the death could have easily been prevented.

All decisions to use medical treatment is not bad. Some decisions are. I believe God can lead in this area, too.

Some things have to be treated because many times we don't just get healed by God. That's reality. Do you want your children or loved ones to suffer or be permanently debilitated when it may be preventable?

In everything be led by the Lord.

Sarah

Sarah,
We do not eschew medical help. FYI, our 25 YO daughter died from a glioblastoma in 1996 in spite of the best medical treatment. Our 19 YO son had a cornea transplant 24 years ago. He had acathamoeba keratitis that ended up destroying his cornea. [EDITED]

This experience with cancer has taught me a lot, so much that when I talk about the issues dealing with terminal illness to my friends they are left speechless because they know firsthand what we went through. I have discovered since then that we are not alone. Others who have seen their loved ones treated for cancer only to die from it will say things like this: "if the cancer won't kill you the treatment surely will!" Now, granted, medicine has come a long way since then but people are still dying from it.

In searching for divine healing, when I am sick, hurt real bad I will ask my husband to lay his hands on me and pray for me.

Back in June the pain in my hips from arthritis was so bad my husband had to turn me in bed. For a month or so before I had to use crutches for the first 15 minutes in the mornings so I could walk. After this terrible episode I asked for and received anointing with oil by our pastors. I had one episode since - that night- but that was all. My crutches have been retired to the closet and been unused since. While the LORD did not heal me instantly, he did show me what lifestyle changes I needed to make and some practical things I could do. For this I praise Him. (My diagnosis of arthritis came from a doctor who said I need a hip replacement!)

God is good, if we give him an opportunity to demonstrate this. But if He decides to call a child home, He is still good! There is much rejoicing in heaven when one finally reaches Home!

Yes, I understand that when you are young and have a family to care for you may not understand my feelings on this issue, but our children are all adults and on their own. And Home looms closer then it did twenty years ago! :-)

ginnyrose