With bankruptcy looming, a pending divorce, and thoughts of suicide dancing in my head salvation was calling me. Although, I attended church regularly and was familiar with the book of Job as a book in the Bible I had never actually read it. Something kept telling me to read that book. Ringing in my head over and over again. Read, read, read. The book of Job would pop up in different situations as if it were a sign to read it. So finally I did.
The book of Job, for those who don't know, is the story of a wealthy, pious man whose good life turned to ashes because God allowed Satan to test Job's faith.
Job's tale begins in heaven, when God praised him as an example of human faith. Satan, called "the accuser" in the biblical record, dismissed Job's faith, saying that he was righteous only because God had blessed and protected him. Satan proposed that if Job lost his wealth and loving family, Job would curse God to his face. God gave Satan the freedom to destroy anything but Job's life itself. Thus began the story of tested faith and adversity.
Satan swept down like a plague. Within one day, Job's herds had been stolen by nomadic raiders, his ten children died, and Job himself was struck, no financial wealth, I had lost my extended family in the form of my in-laws, and a recent doctors visit revealed I had high blood pressure. I felt that my wealth and family were lost and I had a potentially life threatening disease.
Just like Job I felt desperate and despairing. I would cry out to God about my life, feeling loathsome and hopeless. How could I have let this happen and why wasn't God helping me? But God was helping me. He led me to read this book.
I had come to realize that I was not alone in this and it has happened before and it will happen again to possibly me and others. Just like the very economic crisis we are experiencing today with people losing their homes and jobs, debt piling up, and many people in despair it all will pass.
Eventually, Job's fortune and family were restored two-fold. Just as mine were. Things didn't happen on their own and they won't get fixed on their own. You need to take action. Just as I realized Job had everything returned to him, I knew I could too, but I had to do something about it. Thousands of people are having financial problems right now. No matter how bad you feel right now things will get better. Just as others have gotten into debt, others have gotten out too.
First step: Check out just how bad things are. How bad or good is your FICO credit score?...
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