Dear friend, if you’ve gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, If you’ve impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, Friend, don’t waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You’re in that man’s clutches! Go, put on a long face; act desperate. Don’t procrastinate— there’s no time to lose. Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper!
Proverbs 6: 1-5 The Message
The scriptures deal with every area of our lives. Here, the author of Proverbs is addressing personal finances. These verses counsel us against going into unnecessary and foolish debt with someone. It warns us about making impulsive or emotional investments.
These kinds of arrangements have the potential to become financial disasters! The author counsels us to find a way to solve this predicament as quickly as possible. Why? When we are in a situation like this, it can consume our life. It can become like a millstone, and all we think about, thus rendering us worthless to doing anything else.
I sometimes listen to the Dave Ramsey show. He is a nationally syndicated radio personality who developed “Financial Peace University,” a program to help people gain control of their financial lives. Dave is not a radical. He is a Christian and frequently mentions Bible verses as encouragement on his program.
One of his main goals is to help people get out from under their crushing financial burdens. This takes a lot of hard work on the part of those who have found themselves in these financial black holes. Those who have worked through the steps of Dave’s program, will come on the show, explain how they succeeded, and then get to yell “I’m Debt-free”! It is a celebration indeed.
Being under the weight of a financial disaster is a burden. However, burdens are not just financial. They are things which keep us from living a life free from stress, depression, worry, anxiety, and so many other problems. These burdens can overwhelm our lives when we are not right with God. Yet there is always a way out of these situations. God gives us His roadmap to success in life, so we can invest our time and energy wisely. This includes finances, but also with other parts of our lives which are not right with God.
So do not give up! There is a way out. There is always a door to freedom when Christ is in your life. Take that burden, that weight, and seek your direction into a life full of joy, peace, and the knowledge of living right with the Lord. Christ took the burdens of our sin to the cross. Our burdens can be freed when we walk with Him, in His light, following the direction He gives us. That is the good news of the scripture! So, look to the Lord for the life’s direction, and shout, “I’m free because of Christ!”
Prayer
Lord of all,
Sometimes we find ourselves in holes that feel too deep to ever get out of. The burdens of life overwhelm us, and sometimes keep up from seeking Your direct help. Show us the path to live a life with joy and peace through You. Help us to walk where you shine your light. Keep us ever mindful of your guidance. Help us to seek You through the burdens life does bring us. We pray this prayer in Your most faithful name, Amen
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