Debts are a big headache for many people. In my last article, I suggested that if you had problems with debt you should rely on Psalm 23 for comfort. It says that you should rely on the Lord for He will guide you to the right path. Then what is the right path to get rid of your debts? After praying to the Lord for guidance you may find out that Chapter 7 or 13 bankruptcies may be the right path for you. A fresh start or reorganization of your financial affairs might be the right direction for you. We will now compare a bankruptcy where you are able to wipe out your debt to the Sword of God and Gideon. So, who is Gideon?

Gideon was a farmer at the time that the Jews were captives of the Midianites. One day, Gideon saw an angel sitting under an oak tree. The angel said to him, “You are a brave man, Gideon; and the Lord is with you. Go out boldly, and save your people from the power of the Midianites.” Puzzled by this message from the angel since he was just a farmer, Gideon answered the angel, “O Lord how can I save Israel? Mine is a poor family in Manasseh and I am the least in my father’s house.” And the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and I will help you drive out the Midianites.” Gideon felt that it was the Lord who was talking with him, in the form of an angel. He brought an offering, and laid it on a rock before the angel. Then the angel touched the offering with his staff. At once a fire leaped up and burned the offering; and then the angel vanished from his sight.

On the spot where the Lord appeared to Gideon, Gideon built an altar, and called it ‘The Lord is peace.’ Then the Lord told Gideon that before setting his people free from the Medianites, he must first set them free from the service of the pagan gods Baal and Asherah, the two idols most worshiped among them. On that night, Gideon went out with ten men, threw down the images of Baal and Asherah, and destroyed the altar before these idols. And in place he built an altar to the God of Israel, my Lord and my God, whose only Son, Jesus died for our sins so that we could have eternal life with Him in heaven. Right on, Gideon!

Gideon was a man of faith and wished to be sure that God was leading him; and he prayed to God, and said, “So Lord God, give me some sign that thou will save Israel through me. Here is a fleece of wool on this threshing floor. If tomorrow morning the fleece is wet with dew, while the grass around it is dry, then I shall know that thou art with me, and that thou wilt give me victory over the Midianites.” Very early the next morning Gideon came to look at the fleece. He found it wringing wet with dew, while all around the grass was dry. But Gideon was a ‘segurista’ and wanted to be sure, that it was God who was really talking to him. So, he said to the Lord, “O Lord, be not angry with me; but give me just one more sign. Tomorrow morning, let the fleece be dry, and let the dew fall all around it; and then I will doubt no more.” The next morning Gideon found the grass and the bushes and the trees wet with dew, while the fleece of wool was dry.

Gideon then led 300 men against an army of thousands of the Midianites and utterly crushed them with “The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.” With a Chapter 7 or 13, you can also utterly crush your debt and wipe them out. Pray first if this is the right choice for you.

Lawrence Bautista Yang is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and has been in law practice for thirty years. He specializes in bankruptcy, business and civil litigation and has handled more than five thousand successful bankruptcy cases in California. He speaks Mandarin and Fujien and looks forward to discussing your case with you personally. Please call (626) 284-1142 for an appointment at 1000 S Fremont Ave Bldg A-1 Suite 1125 Unit 58 Alhambra, CA 91803.