Financial Freedom Series: Debt – What is Your Story?

Welcome to part 3 of our Financial Freedom Series, where we’re looking into God’s Blueprint for Building Wealth and Managing Your Money Well!

We dive into biblical principles and cutting-edge money management wisdom to help you…

• Honor God with your money
• Build wealth
• Shrink your debt
• And build toward financial freedom

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5)

“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8)

So many people are…

• Battling to make ends meet, 
• Living above their means,
• Cash-strapped,
• Debt-ridden,
• Just trying to survive,
• Going through the motions, and
• Disillusioned with life.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to focus on DEBT. 

We are going to look at…

• What is debt? We’ll also be exposing the consequences that it has on you. 
• Why do so many get into debt?
• How to get out of debt? We will give you solutions for facing your debt, being accountable, and shrinking your debt.
• A debt attack strategy that works.
• A practical way you can avoid the debt trap.
• How you can break the debt cycle and become financially free.

Debt…

• Enslaves,
• Steals cash flow,
• Causes tension and unnecessary pressure,
• Stops many from attaining financial freedom.

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)

Although we are living in difficult times, I believe that you can…

• Declare war on your debt. 
• Break the debt cycle, 
• Turn the tide and build towards financial freedom. 

Let’s look at a few headlines on debt…

• “A growing number of consumers who are getting deeper into debt.” – Debt Rescue CEO Neil Roet
• “Of the 19 million credit active consumers in SA, 10 million are at least three months in arrears on their debt repayments.”
• Most debt-ridden South Africans fall into the age gap between 31 and 45. 
• The number of people under 25 who want to undergo debt review has increased significantly. 
• 56% of home loan consumers struggle to pay their loan repayments.
• 58% of consumers with credit cards are battling to pay off their debt.
• Only 23% of South Africans have money left at the end of the month, and the other 77% are flat broke. 

What is Your Story?

You may have faced retrenchment, lost your job, faced an unfortunate situation, been reckless and taken on too much debt, or made poor choices. 

I do not know what happened in your life, but you must surrender your burden to God. I also want to look your enemy, that giant of debt that has caused so much stress, directly in the eye and declare, “Enough is enough!“

It is time to draw a line in the sand. It’s time to declare war on your debt and to build towards financial freedom.

There is a way out. 

My Story…

I had no money management skills when I started working in my early twenties.

When I landed my first job, I was earning a good income. Thanks to the credit and store cards that banks and clothing retailers were eager to give me, I lived the high life, dressed up, and spent money on anything I liked.

I rented a nice home. I bought a Toyota Conquest Sport Edition on finance, with all the cool fittings. I was living the good life. I had money, and it felt like I had a never-ending supply until I maxed out my credit cards and realized that I had more month left than money! 

I decided to leave the company I worked for and joined one of the biggest insurance companies in South Africa as a financial advisor, with the aim of making more money to fund my empty lifestyle. At first, things went well. I contacted my friends and colleagues at my previous company and signed them on several insurance and investment products that brought in good money. I was living it up in sin, without a care in the world. 

Then, almost overnight, all hell broke loose. The old company where my friends worked, now my clients, closed, leaving them jobless. Because they couldn’t pay the premiums on their policies, their policies lapsed, leaving me with a heap of debt I needed to repay and my income grounded to a halt.

Over the following three months, I had very little money coming in. My car ran on petrol fumes, I couldn’t cover my rent, and I had the landlord breathing down my neck. I couldn’t pay my car. The bank was calling me daily, demanding payment. The clothing stores I had cards with were also threatening me. The finance division at the bank wanted to take my car away. I hid my car around the corner and avoided all their calls. I had no cash flow. My credit cards were maxed out. I was left three months in arrears on my rent and was kicked out of my rented home. My car was four repayments behind. I owed the company I worked for a large amount of money due to the lapses, which they wanted back.

They deducted 80% of the income I earned each month to recover this debt, leaving me with 20% to live on, which wasn’t even enough to cover my fuel and food bill. The debt I owed to the company I worked for may not seem like much today, but thirty years ago, it was equivalent to buying a three-bedroom home in a middle-class suburb. I also owed tens of thousands on my credit cards. I was stressed out, to put it mildly. I was scared to answer the phone because it was always another creditor asking for money. I was practically bankrupt. 

Under the stress, my work suffered, and my commission income was reduced. I was left financially ruined. With poor financial wisdom and insufficient money to cover my basic living expenses, I didn’t know where to turn. 

It felt like I had a pile of bricks on my shoulders, like this thick mist around my head. I was scared and worried. My mom was telling me to take it to God in prayer, but I saw this as my problem: I had created the debt, and it was my mess to fix.

But I hit rock bottom. I got to a stage where I could not take it anymore. One day, completely heartbroken, I fell on my knees and surrendered my burdens and debt to Jesus.

That day, I asked God to forgive me of my many sins. I surrendered my burdens to God. He did a supernatural work in my heart. I literally felt the hand of God on my back. I knew God loved me and that He had forgiven me. My debt was still there, but after praying, it felt like the mist had lifted, and I had peace in my heart. The heavy load seemed to be lifted off my shoulders.

My debt was still there, but I knew that Jesus was my provider and that He would see me through. A week later, I received a surprise refund from the taxman. This was a miracle. I was expecting a tax refund, and I followed this up with the tax revenue office. They had told me that my tax had not been assessed and that it would take at least a few months before the refund was processed. The next day, my accountant called to say he had gone to his P O Box and that there was a cheque from the tax man made out to me. It was the exact amount needed to settle my car and outstanding rent. God works in mysterious ways. 

I knew God was with me. I had peace, and in the months and years that followed, God supernaturally provided for my needs, so much so that I could get through this. The little I had seemed to stretch. God looks after his children!

This seriously difficult time ended up being a life-changing season, which was instrumental in growing my relationship with God. 

Why?

Because I had to rely on Jesus.

During this time, I decided never to get back into bad debt again. With God’s help and discipline, I have turned my money around. While it took me a few years to get back on my feet, I was able to start afresh. I am so thankful that this all happened before I was married. Not only did I settle all my debts with God’s help, but by applying his wisdom, I have managed to turn my financial affairs around for the good. 

Today, I am married, and I have four sons, two of whom are in university. We have no bad debts that cause stress. Today, I have helped build up a good business and am involved in ministry. Through my profession and the ministry opportunities that God has opened, I have had the privilege of helping many turn their lives around for the good and helping them dream again.

You Can Turn Your Financial Affairs Around…

With a bit of discipline and God’s blessing, I turned my financial affairs around—and so can you!

During this series, we want to help you squash your debt and start dreaming again. 

Don’t accept your current situation as your lot in life. With God at your side, you can get back up. You can declare war on your debt. You can dare to dream again. 

With God’s grace and mercy, a little hard work, and discipline, I was able to settle my debt and dream again.

God Has a Plan for Your Life. 

God loves you. He can cause all things, even the bad things, to work out for the good.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

God can restore your life.

“The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts.” (Joel 2:25)

Surrender…

If you are in debt bondage, surrender your burdens to God.

If you find yourself living without God, I want to encourage you to return to Him again. God has your best interest at heart. He can fix anything that is broken. He can make a way.

Once you have surrendered your debts and burdens to God, you must be prepared to manage your money differently. You may need to cut back for a season, work a little harder, or change certain habits, but you can wipe out your debt, regain control over your money, and then begin to dream again and rebuild toward financial freedom. 

Over the next few weeks, we will help you understand your debt, tackle the problem areas, and give you practical insights and a structured process to attack your debt – once and for all. 

We also aim to help you rekindle your dreams and build towards a more fruitful financial future. 

If you are in debt and want to build towards a brighter tomorrow, I want to encourage you to take 3 STEPS…

• STEP 1: ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR DEBT PROBLEMS

• STEP 2: SURRENDER YOUR DEBT AND BURDENS TO GOD

• STEP 3: BE PREPARED TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY DIFFERENTLY

Give your burdens to God. If you have failed, confess your shortcomings to God. Release your fears and anxieties to him. Give him your debts.

Cast your cares on Jesus…

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Don’t worry about anything. Rather pray about everything…

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Surrender your life and your all to Jesus…

Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Next week, we will continue our discussion of Financial Freedom and look at a few practical ways you can apply so that you can deal with debt and break the debt cycle so that you can build towards financial freedom.