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Are You Resting in the Secret Place?

The more life hits, the greater the value we place on resting in that secret place with the Lord. It’s easy for us just to move with the business of life when things are level. We celebrate, adorn ourselves, and focus on living that good life. That’s all fine and well, but sometimes life calls us deeper into the secret place and focusing more on the inner man or as the Bible states the hidden man of the heart.

Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 1 Peter 3:3-4 (KJV)

This is a scripture God takes me to often to remind me to be still and quiet before him. I’ve recently been going through grief and other things and sometimes it causes me to feel a bit behind with the pursuit of purpose, ambition and plans I’d previously been working on, but I know its important for me to heal so I pace myself.
However, God was letting me know it isn’t about those things so much right now anyway. It’s about my inner man. God wants my inner man rested and secure in him. He wants my inner man quiet no matter the challenges that come my way. He’s been inviting me to rest more in that secret place with him not worrying about falling behind or keeping up the things that others can see. He wants me centered on him.
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During the centering on him, God provides wisdom, instruction, rest, assurance, healing, and everything that comes with his presence. I love this place. I love that the Lord draws me nearer to him when I am facing challenges, and he carefully instructs me on how to get through them.
Recently, God had given me Psalms 27 as a road map and confirmation of how he’s been calling me deeper into him:

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.
Though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.
One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.
And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord. – Psalms 27:1-6

David was reiterating that no matter what came up against him; he’d be okay if he focused on what was most important and that is the one thing he desired from the Lord. He desired to dwell with the Lord and to behold the Lord. That is when he saw himself as hidden in God’s place of safety at rest and lifted up far above his enemies. That is the most important thing. It’s more important than keeping up in ministry, appearing to have it all together or anything else we could desire. Maintaining our seek for God and allowing ourselves to be quiet enough to gaze on him helps us to remain hidden in his rest. When life hits hard; we should go deeper in God into that secret place. God is so good that he will be patient with us and coach us there no matter where we find ourselves.

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A Whole Other Level of Confidence & Faith in God:

I’ve been meditating all week on embracing my weakness for acquaintance with God’s power and a whole other level of faith. According to the below scripture, God wants our faith not to simply rest on wisdom from men, but on his power:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. – 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

God wants us to be acquainted with his power. He wants us to know his power so much that it builds our faith.

Faith: Complete trust or confidence in someone or something. Strong belief in God or in doctrines of a religion (Google Definition.)

God doesn’t want us staying at the same level as when we came into the faith. He wants us growing stronger and more confident in him. We grow stronger and more confident in the Lord and in our faith through embracing our weaknesses. This is where we give the Holy Spirit room to work.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. – Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

Above, we see when we are too weak to find the right words to pray; the Holy Spirit prays for us, and not only does he pray for us, but he prays God’s will for us being the Spirit of God; he knows the mind of God concerning us. Just like men know the dealings of men.

Paul speaks of the importance of not boasting in himself, but instead boasting in his weaknesses:

2 Corinthians 12:5 – But I will not boast about myself, except my weakness.

Paul continues to speak of refraining from boasting in himself even though he’d be telling the truth about himself. He chooses to boast in his weaknesses so that men do not think more of him than who he really is. By Paul sharing his weaknesses, it allows him to appear human to his followers as he relies on God. This lets his followers know they can also rely on God.

To keep Paul from looking to himself for strength because of his history of revelations; God allowed a thorn in his flesh making him acquainted with his weakness so that he could be acquainted w/God’s strength and power. This, in turn, builds his faith. Paul sees the value in this process and instead of complaining, he embraces his weakness looking for a full manifestation of God’s power and strength.

In conclusion, we see Paul embracing his weakness within himself for God’s greater power. See 2 Corinthians 12:9. He learns to love this process despite the discomfort of his weakness. In the church, there is a facade that to be a real believer; you have to be strong all the time, ignore or simply don’t address weaknesses for an appearance of righteousness and holiness. However, that isn’t it. That’s not the structure God has built up or ordained. Actually, it’s a set up for a break down because none of us are strong enough to stand up strong all of the time unless we are depending on the Holy Spirit’s power to help us where we are weak.

Don’t be deceived or fooled by those who boast in their reputation or strength as if that is the way to proceed. The way to proceed is to embrace the fact that we are weak allowing God to elevate our faith, confidence, and maturity in him through showing his strength and power within our weakest places.

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Death as a Catalyst for Change:

Did you know that death can be used as a catalyst? What is a catalyst? A catalyst is something that provokes action or change. One of the best examples of this is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was assassinated April 4th, 1968. Just 7 days after his death, congress pushed out the 1968 Fair Housing Act in response to the unrest, rioting, and protest for justice across the country. His death became a catalyst for change. It pricked the authority figures in the nation to change the laws on the books producing equality in housing for all citizens no matter race, color, national origin, gender, or religion.
Previously, there was no urgency to pass this law. It was an afterthought or something approached in a melancholy way. Death has the ability to do this in our personal lives. It makes us question if we are living in our purpose as we should. What more does God want us to do here? It is a sobering experience to experience the loss of a loved one.
I’d recently been thinking about how the Bible mentioned death as a sting. When I begin to study the sting of death. I found something similar to death being used as a catalyst:

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. – 1 Corinthians 15:55-56

First, let’s properly exegete the above scriptures: Death exists because sin was introduced into the world by Adam and Eve. However, Adam and Eve would not have known about sin had God not given them the commandment not to sin. Thus, God continued his plan before the foundation of the world to extinguish sin and death by offering his only son as a man to pay the penalty for sin. This introduced everlasting life to man-kind again if we’d only trust in Jesus Christ. Thus, the sting, or prick of death and sin separating us from God no longer exists for those who trust in God.

This is the proper interpretation of the above scriptures for those who die in Christ. However, what about those of us who are still alive in Christ? Can death be used in a positive way to prick us to some form of action that can be used for God’s glory? I think it can.

We know the definition of prick in the sense to cause pain as if getting pricked by a needle, but there is another prick that takes that pain and wakes up to a greater purpose.

Prick in the above scriptures in Greek means the below:1.    A sting
2.    An iron goad, for urging on oxen, horses, and beasts of burden. i.e. here the proverb “to kick against the goad” i.e. to offer vain and perilous or ruinous resistance. (Thayer Greek Dictionary)
Follow me as I break this down:
Goad: To provoke or annoy (someone) so as to stimulate some action or reaction.
    i.e. “He goaded her on to more daring revelations.”
Synonyms: Provoke, Spur, Prick, Sting, or Prod (Google Definition)The above term kick against the goad is from the conversion of Paul, whom the Lord asks why he kicked against the prick? I’d always wondered what that terminology meant. It means why is Paul fighting against the purpose of God for his life. God had to place him in an uncomfortable situation that would sting him taking his eyesight and stopping him in his tracks to prod him to submit to the purpose of God for his life. When Paul finally submitted, he was on fire for God taking the message of Jesus Christ far beyond his generation.
A goad is also a physical tool used to prod animals such as oxen who are used for a particular purpose. When the animal is struck with the goad, it prods him on the direction to go. My point is this sting is significant for being used in a manner as to provide a sting that doesn’t only result in discomfort and pain, but far more. It also results in direction, sobriety, action, and change.
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God doesn’t allow anything to go to waste in our lives. He uses it all for his glory. In what ways might the Lord be prodding you for change through the loss of a loved one? In what ways might the Lord be providing direction on how to move forward through the loss of a loved one? In what areas might you have been fighting against the Lord or his purposes for your life? In what areas might you have been melancholy prior to the death of a loved one that you feel a fire or prod for change coming on? Think about these things and allow the Lord to walk you through them as you continue on knowing your deceased loved one is at rest.

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What to Do When You Feel Like You’re Just Existing:

Have you ever had a moment or season in your life where you took such a heavy blow that the pain made you feel like you were just existing? You were tired and lacked the strength to be passionate about the things that were once important to you. You’re just here. I have and I think it’s pretty normal to hit this place in life sometimes.
The first thing we should do when we hit this place is to release ourselves from the shame and guilt for feeling this way. Sometimes, we place false burdens on ourselves as if we have to always feel like we’ve got it all together. However, it’s okay to realize we don’t, we’re weak, and desperately need to depend on God trusting him daily through especially tough places such as this. Below are a few things that we can do to help us get through the tough place of being simply tired and feeling as though we just exist.
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Talk to other Believers
Recently, I’d been praying a secret prayer to the Lord asking him to add something to my life that would make me appreciate where I am. Sometimes, we can hit such heavy pain that we do not appreciate the gems that we receive in going through the pain that God allows. We simply want it to stop. Heaven at that point seems like the best idea. We ask God why am I here? I’d rather be in heaven or not to have been born as Job prayed when he went through a hard time. But then, we talk to other believers who are going through the same things. We begin to hear their testimonies and it enlivens our spirit. We begin to wake up and realize there is more to life than our suffering and pain. This adds a little more strength to keep moving forward through the hard place of simply existing.​Over-saturate Yourself in the Word of God
This is super easy for us to do nowadays. We can turn on YouTube and find teaching for free on any subject. We can listen to the Bible on our phones, watch on television or pick up a handy devotional. When we’re in the place of just existing through our in; its hard to study the Word or find the strength to muster knowing what to read in the Bible. In those moments, technology comes in handy.

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8-9

Don’t Stop Seeking the Lord
Of course, the question is always lingering, “Lord do you see? Or what will the Lord make of all of this pain in my life?” There is that wonder of locating the Lord to hear what he will say or do. God always shows up in the hard places in life. However, its easy to place God on the back burner through the despondency of dealing with the present hurt at hand. We wonder if we can go on. We wonder if we’ll ever be as strong in our faith as we once were. God sees and begins to give us more grace and more strength. This adds strength to our faith and answers our hidden questions of whether its all been worth it to walk with the Lord and still go through such pain. We remember that this is simply a part of life that God has already given us the victory over. His strength is what pulls us through each trial and test and we grow in faith and in our seek for God. Allow your trust in the Lord to continue to grow through the circumstance knowing that God knows exactly where you are and his grace is enough for you.

​But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold Job 23:10

Wait on God
God knows how challenging it is to face a feeling of hopelessly existing through hard circumstance and pain. That is why he promises over and over again to show up for the humble, broken, and weak. It creates an expectation within us to be reverent of God being here with us and in our circumstance with us. God shows up providing affirmation, stability, security, and peace. We can expect these things from God’s presence. God shows up with strength for those who wait on him.

Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! – Psalms 27:14

Count Your Blessings
​When we are in a cold hard reality, it’s hard to count our blessings. If its too hard to thank God for one area in your life; begin to thank him for another area of your life. Eventually, the hard place will become easier when we’ve begun counting our blessings. It helps us to find contentment, joy, and resolve as we walk out our journey with the Lord.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kind. James 1:2-4

Keep Moving
Pain, hardship, and depression can all be immobilizing. They make us feel like giving up. That’s okay to feel like giving up, but we have to keep moving forward to see what the end is going to be. The hardship, pain, depression, or grief is not the end. It’s simply a hard place on our journey, but our journeys always get better if we stick it out to see how things will shift. I’ve been in a hard place lately, but God himself shines his light on my situation at times just to let me know He’s still there with me, and better is coming. Embracing our weakness, and our need for God is what gives us the strength to keep moving forward because God sends his grace at that point.

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. – Psalms 30:5

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4 Things You Can Do to Comfort a Person Who Has Lost A Loved One

Call to check on them
While calling them to check on them, you’ll want to listen to them. It’s a process to cope with the pain of losing a loved one. The surviving loved one may be asking themselves questions as to how they got to the moment of their loved one no longer being here. Did they do all they could do to help the deceased loved one stay alive or stay healthy? Did they visit him or her enough while he/she was still alive? Allowing the mourning individual to talk out what they are feeling and how they are perceiving things gives him/her a safe place to not keep their grief bottled inside. It provides a safe relief and reminds them that they are not alone.

Offer to Cook a Dish for the Repass
With so many different factors going into planning and finalizing funeral details; often something needed will be missed or forgotten. Offering your help to provide a dish, paper-wear, drinks, and anything needed will provide much-needed relief in an already stressful time.

Be Understanding
People process grief differently. If someone needs to withdraw for a brief period, don’t take it personally. They could be recharging and/or conserving energy for tasks they will not be able to avoid. Grief can be very heavy at times making it hard to keep moving. Assure a withdrawing person that it is okay to take a moment to him/herself. As long as the withdrawal is healthy. A person should not cut everyone off altogether for extended periods or withdrawal into negative behavior.

Feel free to encourage or provide a referral to grief counseling when someone dealing with grief seems to be somewhat emotionally unstable. A good referral is griefshare.com. Grief-share is an international ministry where you can visit their website, enter your zip code, and sign up for their free support group. The group meets 13 weeks participating in viewing video teachings about grief, group discussion and support, and working through a workbook that shares how to heal through grief.

Don’t be afraid to be there
Often when a person experiences a friend losing a loved one; fear of saying the wrong thing may cause the friend to withdrawal. It’s okay to reach out. Ask if anything is needed. More than likely your friend will be appreciative that you asked, and he/she will keep you in mind when they actually do need something like someone to run an errand, provide a dish, or read scripture during the funeral. If you are limited on your time and participation; you can always provide a card, hug, or donation. The point is to do something. Prayers are appreciated, but reaching out and showing that you’re there will show you as someone who cares.

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6 Things to Assist in Healing From Grief

​The loss of a loved one can become a paralyzing thing. It’s easy to wake up with consistent pain, and have to go throughout the day in consistent pain. It can feel like all of the energy and excitement for life has been completely sucked out of us. The simplest tasks seem impossible. This is a normal symptom of grief. It will take some time to heal from the experience. Not to mention how the person died. Perhaps, we watched a loved one deteriorate over time or have regrets as to how we could have done things differently, and now its too late. I do not claim to be an expert at all on grief, but I will share some of the things I’ve learned along the way from mentors, support groups, and personal experience, and hopefully, it will help someone else going through a painful time of grief.

Take Each Day at a Time
Don’t try to force your healing right away. Don’t compare your process in how you deal with grief to how others deal with grief. Allow yourself the grace to feel how you feel, and to process all of your questions, regrets, and grief. It will be a process. You may not immediately feel better overnight, but you do have to go through your unique process. Allow yourself to have moments of happiness and laughter thinking on a good memory and allow yourself to have those moments of sadness and tears. Don’t attempt to force yourself into tomorrow, but live out each moment of each day. It will be a process.

Be Honest About How You Feel
You will need safe spaces to share how you feel with those who genuinely care. If you feel you cannot function or think properly enough to go into work; call your boss and explain. Many jobs give 3 grief days. Others will allow you to take additional sick days as grief days. That will help with that feeling of not wanting to get up out of bed. I struggled at various times with getting up out of bed when I lost my father. It was like life was in slow motion and I still had to live even though I needed to pause and just stop. I’m thankful that I have good friends who check on me and I can share with them how I feel.

Allow God to Assist You in Resolving the Regrets & Questions You May Have
My most refreshing moments were when I felt the presence of the Lord simply saying I’m here. That made my day. I’d called my mentor one day sharing with her the need for closure in how my dad died. It did not make much sense to me. She shared some really good information with me about when her mom passed and how she dealt with regret for so long over how she could not be there when it happened. She blamed herself. It took her a long time to get over that, but as she shared it was a part of her process. Another, hurtful instance of grief my mentor endured was losing a brother to murder and no one knew exactly what happened to him. However, her mother had been seeking the Lord about it and God gave my mentor’s cousin a dream showing her just what happened. She was able to explain that to my mentor’s mother who’d been seeking the Lord about it. God cares about us being resolved in our questions, regrets, and wanderings that come with grief. He knows that a lack of resolve means a lack of peace, and Jesus came to give us peace (John 14:27).

Do the Next Thing
This is something I learned from a support group called GriefShare. You can find free classes all over the nation that support those dealing with grief at Griefshare.com. Do the next thing means that we will not be able to do everything like before the loss right away and that’s okay. Just do the one next thing that has to be done. Don’t hold it against yourself for not being able to function at the same pace as before. You’ve taken a heavy loss and you will need to heal from it, and that healing will take time. Instead of trying to do everything as you’ve done before; just do the next thing.

Consider One on One Therapy
As previously stated, we all deal with grief differently. Some people are cold and do not show any emotion; while others let it all out. The right therapist can provide a safe and unbiased ear for you to release some of the ways you’ve noticed you’re dealing with the loss. If you have been adopting unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with the loss such as overeating, eating junk food, drinking, etc. The therapist can help you identify these and re-establish healthier patterns. The therapist can also help you to dig deep and deal with some things that you may not even realize are contributing to other factors. It’s good not to go through grief alone because of the emotions and all that comes along with grief. I’ll be starting my one on one therapy this week. I am looking forward to it. Grief can be an emotional roller coaster, and I want to ride this out well, so I am seeking help.

Consider Keeping a Grief Journal
Journaling is naturally healing. It allows us to see and examine our thoughts. It also creates a record of how we have been processing the grief. If there is a part of the grief where we’ve come to resolve; we can document that and if the question relating to the grief comes back up again; we can go over what we’ve documented in our journal.

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When God Takes Things Away…

When God starts to take things away; he is teaching us to trust him more. Pay attention, and submit to him, and then expect the miraculous. This is what stood out to me in my recent Bible reading time. I’ve been reading about Gideon, who I am excited to read about. I honestly don’t recall reading up on him much in the past. It’s always more exciting to get into an unfamiliar part of the Word of God for myself because I get so excited about what God will show me.

Anyhow, Gideon had been in conversation with the Lord. That is how he ended up at a place where God was going to deliver the Midianites into Gideon’s hand, but Gideon had too many men for God to do so. God told Gideon he had to let several men go or else they’d be able to take his glory. God wanted it to be clear that he was the deliverer and not man.
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After several men left Gideon that had been afraid; the men were still too many. God continued to eliminate men from Gideon’s army leaving only 300. It was with the 300, God promised to deliver the Midianites into Gideon’s hand. That is when the miraculous began to happen.

One, our communication with God goes to a new level. Communication with the Lord got Gideon to a moment of seeing God move in a unique way. Not only communication but submitting to God and following him. Actually, walking with God gets us to where we need to be. So many times, we attempt to follow the crowd of Christians, or pastors and leaders without seeking God for ourselves. I firmly believe we can miss out on some experience with God if we do not seek him for ourselves.

Two, our ability to endure becomes more resolute. Gideon did not quit when God began to remove what would have made him comfortable. Having tens of thousands of men in an army to fight with us while going to war is a strong form of security and protection. With such help, why should we deeply concern ourselves with trusting in the Lord? God is aware of this, and often creates discomfort and insecurity inducing awareness of our need to depend on him.

Three, We can only see the miraculous when we do so. Gideon was naturally afraid in a new situation of war. All of his security within the many men who were with him was stripped away. God saw Gideon’s fear and encouraged him to go down to the enemy’s camp with a servant of his. Gideon went down. At that point, he overheard one of the enemies of Israel, a Midianite, share about a dream he’d add. The dream entailed the Israelites overcoming the Midianites led by Gideon. God used Gideon’s enemy to show him the end. After this occurred, Gideon instructed his men to overtake the Midianites yelling a sword for the Lord and Gideon. The Midianites became so afraid that they began to fight each other.

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Walking in the Spirit allows you to see the Impossible in your own life:

Sometimes, I think about all of the miracles that Jesus walked around and did while he was on earth as a man, and I wonder how we can see those things on today. I always come back to the below scripture:

Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. – John 5:19

I can only ask myself in those moments, “what did God last say or last show me?” If Jesus could only do what he saw his father do, and the servant isn’t greater than his Lord; then I have to move in the same manner that Jesus did in order to see the miraculous and impossible in my life.

There is this name it and claim it theology in the body of Christ, but if we name and claim something God has not said or shown us; we are not guaranteed to have that. We are however guaranteed what God has said.

This was confirmed also by another scripture that came to my mind where Ezekiel was bought to a valley of dry bones. He was asked the question if the dry bones could live, and his response was to look to the Lord. That is when the Lord gave him the Word to command that the dry bones live and that the breath of God would enter into the bodies, and skin would appear on them.

The scripture goes on to state that the bones began to come together and form into men with skin and skeletons fashioned appropriately together. The result of Ezekiel’s obedience in declaring what the Lord gave him was a whole army of men that had formerly been dead. That is clearly the impossible becoming possible because a man was in a position to listen to and follow the Lord.

In life, we will face impossible challenges where we may not know how to proceed forward, and that is okay. We have to be careful in those times to hear the voice of the Lord and to follow what God shows us to speak and do because it’s God’s word that sets our expectation and allows us the strength to proceed forward.

So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.  I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. – Ezekiel 37:7

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Money Series: Establishing Credit & to Cosign or Not?

People often co-sign for children or even friends when they have bad credit or no credit at all. However, co-signing is a bad idea that the Bible warns against. Let’s go back to the book of Proverbs:

There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt – Proverbs 11:15 (NLT)
My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger,
you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth.
So do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands:
Go—to the point of exhaustion—[a]
and give your neighbor no rest!
Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler. – Proverbs 6:1-5 (NIV)

The above scriptures warn of the seriousness of co-signing for someone. Putting up security or shaken hands in pledge represents a contract, covenant, or an agreement. In short, the one who co-signs for another agrees to pay that person’s debt if they do not pay it. The person who co-signs assumes the risk of the one he is co-signing for because the person he is co-signing for either has no credit history or bad credit history.

If a person has a bad credit history; he will have to devise and execute a plan of paying down debt until it is all paid off to correct his credit history or look into filing bankruptcy and rebuilding his credit.

A person with no credit history will not be able to take out certain loans like a mortgage. She will have to begin to establish a credit history. One of the best ways to begin to establish a credit history is through a secured credit card. A secured credit card is a card that has a balance that is secured by an amount a person has in a bank account. For example, a person with no credit can visit a credit union or a bank and ask to apply for a secured credit card. She then will open an account with a specific dollar amount. The person’s credit limit will be the dollar amount that’s in that account. If $500 is the agreed upon amount; $500 has to be in that account at all times as long as the credit card is open.

The person with the secured credit card needs to practice the good credit habits mentioned in the previous post such as keeping the balance below 30% or between 0%-30%. That would be between $0-$150 in this case. The person with the secured credit card should only buy what is needed not using the card for wants or frivolous purchases. Purchase something needed such as gas in the car each month. Then pay what was spent on gas off completely. After doing this over a period of time, the credit rating of this individual will go up. At that point, other credit will be made available to this individual.

Parents can direct their children to build credit in this way; instead of co-signing for them for purchases. This will give them a sense of responsibility, and assist them in building their credit so they no longer need a co-signer. Co-signing is for those who do not mind paying their bills and someone else’s’ bills. However, most people do not make enough money to carry their debt and someone else’s; so don’t co-sign.

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Money Series Part IV: Borrowing Basics

You know the Word of God is just bomb! It has something to say on every single subject under the sun. Shout out to my daddy up in heaven, who used to always say, “Read the book of Proverbs. It has so much wisdom on everyday life.” My parents used to read the book of Proverbs to us all the time for the above-mentioned reason, and because of that the below scripture is my center scripture when it comes to borrowing and credit:

​The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is a slave to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7

I don’t know about you all, but I don’t like being a slave to nobody! Therefore, this scripture is always in the back of my mind when I consider any type of borrowing. Thus, I only borrow what I need, and I only borrow what I know I can pay back. Why? Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life working to pay someone else. I want to work and pay myself.

Below are some things that lenders look at when they are considering loaning to a person. They want to assess the risk factor in loaning to an individual. The things they look for have a lot to do with discipline. The above scripture induces discipline in me when I think about money:

How much debt:

A person who doesn’t have too many lines of credit open shows that he may be more responsible in how much debt he is willing to take on. He may not be such a high risk to loan money to in the future. Whereas, a person who is always getting credit cards and opening up new lines of credit has a greater risk of default. This may affect his credit score negatively and cause lenders to think twice about lending to him.

How high the balances are:

This goes to the point of not living above one’s means. If the balances on the credit lines are too high; It may be a red flag that the consumer is not a good manager of credit and thus could pose a risk when considering loaning money to this person. As a rule credit utilization of your lines of credit should always be as low as 30-50% of what has been made available to you. This means if you have a $10,000 credit card, you should spend no more than $3,000-$5,000 of that credit card per month. Never spend over 50% of what you’ve been approved for. That would make you high-risk.

That is a bit of an extreme example because I don’t believe anyone should be putting $3,000-$5,000 on a credit card each month. It’s a good rule of thumb to only spend what you can pay off in full or in a few months of payments. Practicing this consistently will add to a high credit score. Paying it off in full each month or paying it off as agreed will build your credit. Remember, if you pay your credit card off in full each month, you don’t have to pay interest. You only pay interest when you carry a balance.

Length of Debt:

How long have you had the lines of credit open? How long has it been since you opened a new line of credit? If you’ve had an account open for a good length of time that you’ve been paying consistently; It shows that you can make payments on time. It’s not good to open too many lines of credit at one time. For example, if you are shopping for a house, do not shop for additional credit at that time besides mortgage loans. Opening credit while applying for credit such as a housing loan can cause a denial.

How many inquiries are on credit report:

There are soft and hard pulls on your credit. A soft pull comes from a company that views your credit in order to maybe make a contract with you or something, but not to extend credit. Companies that make soft pulls are cable, cell phone, and insurance companies. They pull your credit for informational purposes only.

Hard pulls are when your credit is pulled for the purposes of extending credit such as credit card companies, banks, etc. The hard pulls show up on your credit report, but the soft pulls do not. If a person has too many hard pulls on their credit report; it will lower their credit score.

Your Credit Score:

Your credit score is the overall grade of your credit history. The 600s are average, while the 700 and 800s are very good scores. Anything below the 600s isn’t good. Your credit score is based on the above-mentioned things plus any delinquencies or judgments on your credit history. You can find out more about your credit score by visiting the website: FicoScore Fact Sheet

https://www.fico.com/en/latest-thinking/brochures/fico-score-fact-sheet

Delinquencies:

Delinquencies are when people fall behind on making the agreed upon payment. Those who become delinquent are normally charged late fees, and depending on the type of delinquency may be in danger of losing the asset he/she is delinquent on such as a house or a car. Delinquencies can result in judgments which are certain amounts of money owed to the entity who has sued the individual. Judgments and delinquencies appear on the credit report. They normally remain on the credit report for 7 years. Bankruptcies are also a form of a judgment that will remain on the credit report for 7 years.

Credit reports can be checked once per year for free at annualcreditreport.com. You will not get your score at this website though. You may get a copy of your credit report and score for free if you apply for credit. There is an act that requires the lender to send you a copy of your score and allow you to view your credit report for free. I believe they have 30-60 days to show it to you.

Being aware of your credit/borrowing habits, and making disciplined choices in only borrowing what you need, maintaining low balances, not opening too many lines of credit, and paying off your monthly debt, or at the least paying as agreed makes one a great candidate to borrow when necessary.

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