debt cancellation
SNAPPING my fingers in disappointment, I busily searched for my phone. Shucks! I received notification that I had missed a bill payment by one day. It was nearly midnight, so I had to wait until the morning to address the overdue payment, a situation I was familiar with. The next morning, I picked up my bill as a customer service representative answered the phone. Explaining my situation, I requested a courtesy late fee waiver. The 12-month zero-interest offer had expired, and I owed $8,300.00 on the card. Much like Tarzan swinging from one vine to another, I had been transferring debts to these special offers for decades. The representative apologized for the late payment, but I reassured her that it was not necessary. The late payment was solely my fault. After providing her with my name and account number, there was a brief pause before she asked, “Could you please repeat that number?” Repeating the account number slowly, she responded, “I cannot find that account number in the system.” Feeling a flutter of butterflies in my stomach, I ended the call and contemplated the situation. Hmmm. Was it a mistake, poor customer service, or a miracle? Hours later, I called another representative, who apologetically said, “I’m sorry, no account with that number exists, sir.”
I was dumbfounded. Shocked. Pumped. Mystified. Had I really received a miracle? After informing my family, they advised me to obtain my credit report before testifying. Within seven days, I received reports from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. After carefully reviewing the multiple pages of lifetime credit, I found that none of them listed this particular creditor.
God intervened and wiped out $8,300.00 at a 23% interest rate, which would have resulted in a monthly payment of $195.00 with $165.00 going towards interest. There was a $39.00 late payment fee assessed, and if only the minimum payment was made, it would take 22 years to pay off the loan at an estimated $18.104.00! Debt is an absolute black hole for the consumer.
I went to my banker with a hypothetical scenario and received some stunning information. Let’s say that you have $10,000 in a savings account at an American Bank. The average interest in 2023 on that amount is a paltry $.07, which yields a $0.59 cent monthly interest or a little over $7.00 annually. Time to party! Contrariwise, say that you had another $10,000 on a credit card with a 23% interest rate. The monthly payment would be $230.00 with approximately $192.00 going toward the interest. How absurd is that? You are making no financial strides, but back peddling into financial ruin. According to Motley Fool, a financial service company, between mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and other types of loans, American debt per third quarter of 2023 is a whopping $17.29 trillion.
The Bible has plenty to say about financial transactions on earth, but one in particular stands out. “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverb 22:7). Some translations substitute the word slave for the word servant. We place ourselves in a type of economic slavery every time we borrow without the intention of paying off the debt immediately or with a long-term plan to get out of the debt, such as a mortgage. In fact, the word mortgage is derived from two French words: “mort” (death) and “gage” (pledge). A mortgage is a pledge of death. Below is a website that provides strategies for paying off a mortgage early.
https://www.ramseysolutions.com/real-estate/how-to-pay-off-mortgage-early
A story in I Kings 4, reaffirms my point. A widow whose husband was a member of the sons of the prophet, a prophetic company established by Samuel, left her in debt, and now the creditors had come to take her sons as payment. Though lawful during the day, this cruel act would leave her helpless. Crying out to the prophet Elisha, she received a supernatural miracle of multiplication that allowed her to pay off her creditors and rescue her sons. Debt is bondage. Debt is a monster, and we should avoid it whenever possible.
After receiving my miracle of debt cancellation, I shouted, testified, and felt like running even though there was no one chasing me. It took several days before I could settle down and give God the type of worship that He deserves. David said it this way: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.” (Psalm 116:12–13).
During this quiet time, God gave me a mind-blowing revelation. He said that what He did with my credit card balance is what He does with our sins—cancel them completely. Our sins, failures, evil habits, and past mistakes no longer exist, just like that PNC account. One drop of blood conquers everything! Jesus really does pay it all. The beautiful thing is that God is no respecter of persons. What He does for one, He will do for another. Believe God and expect your miracle today—beginning with the miracle of salvation.
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross” (Colossians 2:13-14)
