How to Start the Climb out of Debt

[How to Start the Climb out of Debt]( Current Teaching Series [Financial Fitness]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [How to Start the Climb out of Debt]( By Rick Warren — 07/20/2022 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= “Don’t withhold repayment of your debts.” Proverbs 3:27 (TLB) God makes it abundantly clear in the Bible how he feels about debt. Proverbs says, “Don’t withhold repayment of your debts” (Proverbs 3:27 TLB). And in Romans you can read, “Let no debt remain outstanding” (Romans 13:8 NIV). You probably already know this intuitively, but God makes it clear in the Bible: Debt is not a good thing. Yet many people find themselves drowning in debt. Moving forward, they would be willing to pay as they go if they could just finish paying for where they’ve been. That’s what God wants for you too. He wants you to repay what you owe so he can bless you in your finances. But working your way out of debt isn’t easy. First you have to commit to do it, and then you need to make a plan for it. Let’s look at those two steps. Commit to getting out of debt. You’ve probably noticed that it’s easy to coast into debt. You don’t even have to think about it. But you cannot coast out of debt. You’ve got to make a U-turn and start a long climb back up the hill. That requires a tough decision and a commitment to the time and discipline it will take to get out of debt. It’s easy to feel alone in this uphill climb. But God knows right where you are! He understood this was going to happen a long time ago. And in the midst of your problems, he wants to help you, to strengthen you, and to grow you. He is with you in this challenge. You are not alone. Make a plan to get out of debt. Getting out of debt is a day-by-day, step-by-step task. And it involves a word that most people don’t like: discipline. It means not buying that, resolving to do this, deciding not to do that. The Bible says in Proverbs 21:5, “Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty” (NLT). If you’re in debt, don’t ignore this warning from the Bible: Watch out for hasty shortcuts. If you’re in debt, you’re in pain—and you want to get out of pain as quickly as possible. And it’s tempting to take shortcuts. But instead of chasing hurried shortcuts, look for God’s plan. Then commit to the plan, determining to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goals. Imagine where you could be in a year if you took diligent steps to be free of debt. Then resolve to take those steps every day, relying on God’s wisdom and grace to do the hard thing. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - Why do many people struggle to be disciplined with their finances? - If you were not in debt right now, what would be different about your life? - Imagine where you want to be financially in a year. What will you have to do every day to reach that goal? The post [How to Start the Climb out of Debt]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email](mailto:?subject=I'd like to share a Daily Devotional from Pastor Rick with you&body= [Get the Invisible War Scripture Box when you give a gift to support Daily Hope!]( Every day, your faith is under attack by the world’s values, sin, and the forces of evil. But by wielding God’s Word, you can find the wisdom to discern, the strength to endure, and the power to fight and win this battle. That’s why Pastor Rick created a very special Scripture box filled with 52 beautifully designed Bible verse cards that will help you fight and win the spiritual battles you face every day. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 5 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series Financial Fitness. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: The Foundation of Financial Health Message 2: The Law of Contentment Message 3: The Law of Sowing and Reaping Message 4: Habits of Financial Health Message 5: Where Best to Invest [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. 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