Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. -Romans 8:12, 13.
When I was led to share this article about our debt, I had no idea that this was actually the 40th day since our final debt was paid. It was a confirmation to share this article now; it is a type of thank offering for God's mercy and provision.
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. -Colossians 2:14.
Sometimes there are consequences for our sins; even if we have already genuinely repented, and have received forgiveness. We can see this clearly in examples such as King David's fall with Bathsheba, found in II Samuel 11 & 12. I know this is an extreme example, and fairly obvious. But in this "age of grace" it isn't always easy yo see or accept that we may yet have to face consequences after God has forgiven us. This is NOT an atoning for our sin, for only Jesus provides that. What this amounts to is a chastening. And even though this can be a great grief to us, God is treating us as His own children.
And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons... Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. -Hebrews 12:5-8, 11.
We began taking serious debt about 11 years ago, although our home mortgage was then a big debt already in place. It took me a long time to realize how I had failed God in this regard. There were some times, when I thought I had understood, and repented, but my actions testified against it. From the time that I first thought I understood what God was showing me about debt, until the time that I REALLY understood, was about 28 months! God had led me to the study of George Mueller of Bristol, a renowned saint from the 1800's (1805-1898). Through this I had come to believe that taking debt was a sin, as he did. Yet even after I had accepted this truth, I took even more debt, to make payments on the other debts. How could I have been so blind as not to see this hypocrisy? A test would shortly overtake us, but let me first sidetrack a bit...
In America, debt is more or less expected, and is seldom thought of as wrong. Please don't take this blog to be a condemnation of yourself or any other person. You must work this out between God and yourself. But debt does hurt us as Christians, and we ought to strive to avoid it. George Mueller's conviction rested on Romans 13:8; (bold type added)
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
It really is a common sense thing. I came to put a lot of weight on the following verse;
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. -Proverbs 22:7. Again, bold type was added for emphasis.
Jesus is our savior, and is meant to be our LORD, as well! Borrowing money puts us in bondage and makes us servants to men, and handicaps our potential service to God. But now I'll go back to the main story...
Within 3 months of realizing my own hypocrisy, the test came; our water heater gave out; we had no money to afford a repair, or replacement. Several options were available, but each one involved taking some debt. This was a time for faith. If debt was a sin, and I was indeed still so sorry for it, we had to trust that God would make a way somehow, without taking more-but there was no help in sight to the natural eye.
God helped us in temporarily getting by with things as they were; we employed towels, a fan, and turning the water supply on and off. To save up the money needed would take at least 2 months. So we "hunkered down" in prayer, and rested on God's Word of promise in Matthew 6:6;
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
How would God move? Who would He send to help us? We expected to get unforeseen money, or maybe to see a Christian plumber moved to help us. No one ever came. But after a few days, some unexpected things started happening. The towel was drying up; the puddle on the floor was no longer re-forming. After 3 days, my wife said, "I think God has healed our water heater." And how right she was! It took me 3 more days of cautious watching, but we then resumed the normal use of our water, including use of the washer.
We had determined that a new water heater was the real need. The Lord told me that He had indeed healed the unit, and He would uphold it for use until we could afford another one. It was to be just like the cruse of oil, and barrel of meal was for the widow who cared for Elijah, as found in the book of I Kings 17:14. Why did God answer this way? He could have sent someone, but I think it was just to encourage a purer trust in Him; for God cannot be limited by His creation. The water heater worked normally for 22 more months. It then began leaking again, but it was very manageable, and within 2 weeks we could afford the replacement.
My wife recently reminded me that when we were deep in debt I had promised to write a song in thanks when God had delivered us. I'm sure she's right, but I don't specifically recall that. I know that I was expecting a big and sudden deliverance, but that wasn't what God's had in mind. I had made the commitment of a song because I wanted to be sure to adequately thank and praise Him when the time came. But now, in place of a song, I want to honor the Lord through a brief sharing of the account. Songs are rather limited in the scope of their coverage. This way the account should be deeper and more edifying, but only by God's blessing. I believe He moved me to do things this way.
Instead of granting us a pile of money, God tutored us as His stewards, and had us kind of work it off over time. We didn't work ourselves into oblivion, either, keeping adequate time for our walk in Christ, and meeting the needs for our spiritual growth. The real press for debt payoff started about September 2015, and finished 3/30 of this year. We prioritized the debt payoff according to scripture;
Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. -Romans 12:17.
God doesn't want us to take debt, but if we have, we must repay it, as a testimony for Christ.
Although we didn't receive a great sum of money that would meet all of our debt at once, we certainly experienced added monetary blessings which were well above what our "sight" would tell us to expect. We would accrue the amount needed for a debt, but then to fully pay it off, our finances could get quite low. But God would soon replenish us. This can be a challenge, when our visible circumstances seem to tell us it would be better to hold on to the money (still making a smaller payment to get by) than to use it up in a much larger payoff.
This happened with our last debt. Just when we were about to pay it off, this Covid-19 debacle ensued. Finances would be tough, right? Shouldn't we just keep our comfortable $100 per month payment, and hold the larger amount until the economy was more secure? This matter caused an almost 3 week delay for us, but in the end the lord moved me to take care of it quickly; it was the right thing to do, and we rested on God's promise from Matthew 6:33;
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
But life has other expenses along the way, and not just the debs to payoff. We saw such expenses as a cracked tooth ($1,000), a new roof ($4,200), a new water softener system ($2,000), a kitchen floor ($1,000), a 2nd vehicle ($2,000), and a home heating system ($6,800). All of these things were paid in full without debt along the way to paying our other debts. There are other lesser expenses as well, such as a new computer, tires for the car, new work shoes, a new sofa, and various other smaller needs that arise occasionally. I am just amazed at what the Lord has provided. Oh, what mercy!
When we were taking the debt, we meant to serve the Lord with our various objectives-but it was a prideful presumption that led us to this, and we didn't understand the position of God's Word regarding debt. God needed to teach us about this. We came into a very poor state, and at times we went with little or no food, and nearly lost our home. In the end, we needed to borrow money (no interest) from a relative to stay afloat. It was a praise that God had moved this man in advance with respect to our request.
During this time of poverty, God used it to increase our faith, and to teach us how to be content with adequate provision over material wealth;
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. -I Timothy 6:6-8.
We were forgiven for our sins regarding debt quite a while ago, but God still had to teach us. It is easy, perhaps, for a Christian to be shown his wrongdoing-and then to ask quickly for forgiveness. We know intellectually that this is the correct course. But are we REALLY sorry? Do we have any understanding of why our actions were wrong, or the consequences they can bring? There are good reasons why the Lord allows or disallows certain actions, and it really is for our good. The path He has led us on has caused me to truly understand the ungodly bondage debt can cause. Once we were in debt to men, we were truly inhibited as to what service the Lord might have used us for.
It grieves me incredibly that I have so grieved my beloved savior by my actions regarding the taking of debt. Yet God has promised to work all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and today I can declare with confidence that I wouldn't trade this time for anything, in light of all the growth the Lord has brought about through it. I know Him a lot better today because of the poverty this situation caused than I ever could have with abundant riches. We are the richer for it, and that will be eternal.
Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:12-14.
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