The Opening
Isaiah 61:1 says "He has sent me to bind up and heal the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound."
In the area of debt, we may not think of being bound or in prison, but the Word of God and Jesus both spoke to illuminate things that are visible only from the Father's perspective - which is much higher than ours and knows every aspect of the condition of humanity from the beginning to the end.
In Proverbs 22:7 it is written "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." As so much of our paycheck can be promised before we've even awoke each morning and worked hard all week to earn it, is that not just like slavery?
The good news is we can regain our freedom.
The first step, is to honor The One who will lead us out of captivity. There are some who "honor" their creditors first and withhold the tithe from the Lord as a result. God plainly describes this in Malachi 3:8 as robbing from Him, but He also promises to "open the windows of heaven" for those who are obedient.
Next, is to allow humility. Much of our indebtedness is brought on by discretionary spending - either on things not needed or exorbitant in stature, or from excessive in quantity. Psalm 25:9 says "He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way."
By allowing humility, we will find ourselves more content. in 1 Timothy 6, Paul wrote "with food and clothing we shall be content". He also revealed that his inward strength came from Christ, enabling him to live under all circumstances. By this reliance we'll receive patience, enabling us to turn away from spending money we do not have on optional things.
By starting with the foundation of the first two steps above, decide that over the next 30 days you will not spend more than you make. Begin by writing down the total amount of each debt. The main culprit to hold in line will be your credit card. To help, write down every charge as it is made on a log and keep it in view every day - that way there will not be a surprise when the statement arrives and you'll be more able to stay on target.
If you can achieve this pivotal step of spending less than you make over the next 30 days, your momentum will have been established and you'll realize just how much control YOU have to not overspend. Then you can work towards paying the smallest debt off first and moving onto the larger debts - more detail on this process is in the December 2016 Blog Archive titled "Moving Forward".
In closing, remember these words from Romans 13:8 which provide simple instruction and will protect us from being bound: "Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another."
God Bless you and may he show Himself greatly to you,
Paul
