Escaping a $6 Million Debt

CBN.com - Barbara’s successful real estate development company closed its doors when the market dried up in 2007. “When the market crashed, I was sitting with 36 properties and about $6 million in debt,” Barbara remembers. “Most of that was in real estate, about 10% was in credit lines. It felt like the weight of the world on me, and every night I would go to bed crying.

But Barbara says she was making big mistakes in business long before the bottom fell out of the market. “There was a book that I had read, and it said if you ever get into a difficult spot it’s the right thing to do to borrow even if you have to sign personally,” she recalls. “Before long that became a way of business for me.”

So with no new sales, and a staggering $6 million debt, Barbara had no way to pay back her creditors. Her attorneys advised her to declare bankruptcy. But Barbara believed that God was showing her a different way. “I started listening to different teachers, like Pat Robertson,” she says. “It gave me hope that, you know, God could bring a message from this mess if He wants to, and I’m going to surrender this to Him.  I’m going to trust Him and I’m just going to see what He does.”

Barbara’s first step was to commit to giving. Then she began to call her creditors to devise payment plans, and within a few years her total debt was reduced by 97%. “I believe that giving made all the difference,” Barbara shares. “Where we put our money is where we put our faith. The Bible says that when you give to the Lord, He sees that. He gives interest, you know.

In 2011, Barbara became a CBN partner. “That’s one of the reasons I give to CBN, because I felt the Spirit leading me to do that and I saw what good was coming from their focus,” she says.

Today Barbara is almost debt free, and determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past.  “I really believe that what God has shown me through this is that even if it’s a time of famine, if it’s your time of need, that is actually the best time to give,” she shares.  “It’s the greatest opportunity for the greatest return. He has taught me so much about His grace, His unmerited favor, undeserved blessings. God wants to bless us when we give to Him. We can’t out give God!”

God wants to bless you too, just as He has blessed Barbara. One way you can give to God’s work is through CBN. Not only will you reach thousands each day with a message of truth and hope through The 700 Club, you will also help feed and clothe children around the world, bring medical aid to those suffering and so much more. Please join with us today.