Another major benefit of righteousness is that when evil is about to come for you, God takes you out of its way and substitutes you with an unbeliever. This is clearly stated in Proverbs 11:8: “The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.”

This is called the Law of Substitution. When trouble wants to swallow the righteous, God will stop it and may put a substitute in his or her stead. There are many instances like this in Scripture. The people who threw Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego into the fire are the ones who died instead of the Hebrew boys who were saved by the Lord, because the furnace had to be fed (Daniel 3). The people who threw Daniel into the den of lions were also the ones the lions ate (Daniel 6).

Many years ago, a lady came to me for prayers. She said she had a dream that her husband, who was on a trip, would be brought back in a casket. I asked her if her husband was born again, and she said yes. We prayed about the dream and she left. After some time, I saw an obituary in the newspaper, and the fellow there had the same surname as this sister. The following Sunday in Church, I asked her about the obituary wondering if it was her husband. She responded saying it was not her husband, but a relative of his. Death was coming for a believer; God revealed it to us so we could pray and when we did, He delivered the righteous from death, while an unbeliever became the substitute. There is no life insurance policy as good as living holy.

When you live a righteous life, you go through life with boldness, knowing that tomorrow will be alright. The Bible says in Proverbs 28:1: “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

If you believe that the policemen around you carrying revolvers are your protectors, wait until they come across people carrying AK47s, then you will discover that you are on your own. The righteous are as bold as a lion because they know that they have God on their side. I want to challenge you to make a commitment today. I want you to go to the Almighty God and tell Him you are committing to a life of righteousness.
Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.