I turned 75 this year and honestly don’t know if I have ever been as busy as I am right now. We live in a busy culture and have multiple demands on our time and energy. I love what I am doing and am grateful for the health and energy that God has given me these past few years.

Not long ago, I was at a conference listening to a speaker talk about margin, or “capacity,” as he called it.  He highlighted four areas of struggle for margin in our lives:  financial, emotional, spiritual, and time.  You may feel pressed in all of those areas, but if you are struggling with the debt question, then you are certainly pressed in the area of financial margin.

Any margin issue in our lives begs some fundamental questions such as: What are my priorities?  Do my activities correlate with my priorities?  Am I making decisions out of my larger goals, or do I make decisions reactively?  Can I eliminate some “low quality” activities (spending patterns) that are thinning my margin? What is God showing me about Himself in my struggles with margin?

If you are struggling with financial margin in your life, and if that struggle is played out in a debt issue, please take the opportunity that today presents.  Take some time to sit with your finances and with the questions above to consider why your financial margin is thin.  Take ownership of the issue, and commit to two or three steps that God reveals to you at that time.

There is only one real answer to debt:  spend less than you earn and do it consistently.  However, there are many reasons that you may be in debt or struggling with that area of margin in your life.  Seek to understand what is behind your struggle, and ask God to show you how to be proactive and, simultaneously, how to trust Him for guidance and provision in the journey.

If you don’t struggle with financial margin, take the opportunity to examine what is behind other areas where your lack margin; be it with your time, your emotional energy, or your spiritual life.  It will be a valuable journey for you!

May God’s peace encourage you as you pursue financial wisdom and depend on His Truth.