Debt

Sadly in our world it is really easy to find ourselves in debt. This may be because of a tough change of circumstances that we are suddenly find ourselves thrown into or it can be because of some of our own unwise choices. Whatever the reason behind the debt you find yourself in we need to realise that we can’t change what’s happened but we can change what happens next.

If you believe there is a God, you might find yourself asking, “Why has God let me down” or “Why doesn’t God answer my prayers?”

For many centuries people have been trying to understand why a loving God allows people to go through tough times? Why doesn’t God stop all suffering and evil and hard times that people have to go through?

What we observe is that God normally allows natural consequences to happen, but God is able to turn a bad set of circumstances into something that, instead of defeating us, makes us a better person than we would have been if we hadn’t experienced the tough time we are travelling through – and he does it one step at a time.

It would be great to chat with you about things that will help you to feel more full of hope and purpose, and to pray for you if that is something you would like. 

What are some practical steps I can take? 

The first important step is speak to someone that knows about these things. The first step to moving on is to stop feeling you need to hide the problem, instead bring it out into the open – the sooner you can do this the better.

In many countries there are really helpful organisations specifically set up to assist people who are in a debt crisis eg in the UK there is CAP.org – their website gives practical advice and will help you find your nearest CAP help centre.

Don’t give up

Struggles and suffering come to an end – if you put the right steps in place then there will be a time when you reach the other side of this struggle and then you will be able to look back at the tough season as something that has now all finished.

Think about the spiritual you

It’s very easy to get so focused on the difficulty that you forget that you aren’t only a physical body – there is a spiritual dimension to life too. Do you believe there is a God? Have you ever spent time trying to learn about who Jesus is, what he did and why he did it?

When you believe that Jesus loves you and is deeply interested in you it gives you a different picture of the world around you and of what your life is all about. It gives you a new hope and a new focus outside of yourself.

The more you get to know the real Jesus of the Bible, the more you will want to live to make Him happy and this will also then become a great motivation to keep on going no matter how low and bad you feel. Jesus cares about you – he wants you to know his peace and his acceptance and forgiveness. He wants you to know Him and how much he loves you.

Church can be a great place to meet people and find caring friendship – particularly if the church meets midweek in small groups in people’s homes – it is there that you will become a person rather than one of a crowd, it is there where you will feel loved and listened to and appreciated. 

Why aren’t my prayers about money answered?

Many times people misunderstand what God is like and what life is about. We need to understand that God is not a magic genie that has to give us whatever we ask for.

Also we need to remember that this life on earth is not the main thing – this is a preparation time for the real life that comes later – life on earth is like the trailer to the main film that comes after death.

Yes, we should pray to God, but prayer really comes out of a friendship between you and Jesus – not as a shopping list of demands and expectations.

If you get to know God, by choosing to follow Jesus, then you will begin to see and understand things from his perspective and you will start to trust him more, realising that he is actually helping you and maturing you through the struggle.

God does want you to present your requests to him, to pray to him and tell him what you would like, but he then wants you to trust him. Trust that he can see the bigger picture and always has a purpose in what he allows to continue and what he brings to an end – God is all wise and knows what is best.

The Bible is full of people who went through hard times

Some people think that if there is a loving God nobody should have a hard time, but even in God’s own book (the Bible) there are many examples of people who followed him and worshipped him even when they were struggling through hard times!

People who follow Jesus don’t do so to have an easy life, they don’t believe in Him because he will get rid of their struggles – in fact many Christians have a harder time once they choose to follow Jesus, because many people around them don’t like their beliefs.