A word of encouragement in tough times - Psalm 37
God led me to some scripture that I hope will be encouraging to Christians who are in a tough position with a debt this year. At the very least, I believe that many people need to hear it. As with all things, pray about what you do, and what God’s message is to you personally. But for many, I think this will ring true:
Psalm 37:21-23
 23 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
      but the righteous give generously; 22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land,
      but those he curses will be cut off. 23 If the LORD delights in a man’s way,
      he makes his steps firm;
What does this mean? In my humble opinion, it means the following:
- “The wicked borrow and do not repay”: Do whatever you can to repay your debts. If you are afraid that you cannot, then contact your lender immediately to see what they can do for you to meet the commitment you made. Remember that mortgage companies need you to stay in your house… they don’t want to foreclose and then sell at a loss… it costs too much. If there is a way for you to meet your commitment and still keep your house, then the Lord will show it to you.
- “but the righteous give generously”: Believe in God’s blessings, and obey through your tithe. Don’t rob God of what is his, but give with a joyful heart (I know it’s hard sometimes).
- “those the LORD blesses will inherit the land”: You are paying a mortgage on a house and the land it is on, and having trouble paying your mortgage month to month. Is God blessing you in the other areas of your life? Then have faith that you will inherit from him “the land” on which you are to live. It may not be the land you live upon right now, but then again, it could be.
- “but those he curses will be cut off”: We have become a country that is fat and happy, taking advantage of an artificially inflated real estate market. We are seeing the consequences of that right now… foreclosures, short sales, depressed values for owners. So according to this scripture, though He may bless some with keeping their house, he will cause others will lose theirs.
- “If the LORD delights in a man’s way”: Does God delight in the path you follow? Does God delight in the “way” in which you do things? You can tell by your own fruit whether God is blessing you, and you can tell from scripture what you ought to do to please Him.
- “he makes his steps firm”:Â Â If you are taking steps to honor God and honor your commitment to your mortgage company, then whether you be out-of-work, or your mortgage was ill-advised to be begin with, then God will make those steps firm.
Does this necessarily mean that all Christians who are in trouble with their mortgage will keep their house?  No, it does not. Does it mean that everyone who loses their house deserves to? No, it does not. What it does say is that if you have made a commitment to a lender, then you must show your willingness and resolve to meet that commitment, or they will not even let you try. They still may not. But, if God has it in mind for you to keep your house, or to unload your house without ruining your credit, then it will be in response to your faith in Him, and the honor with which you conduct yourself throughout the process of keeping or finding the home He has in mind for you. But regardless of what happens and whether past sins of you or others may still have consequences in your life, this is still the attitude with which you should approach things, and God will be with you through it.