I live in the lovely little town of Milford, Ohio, and every Wednesday I look forward to receiving the neighborhood paper for our community. The paper is filled with local happenings, events, and awards and such, but close to the back of the paper it also has lists of court filings. 

When the housing crisis started, I started reading those court filings. I was shocked at the amount of foreclosures listed for just my county alone. One week, I counted as many as 75 foreclosures; the average was around 35 every week! The county has a population of nearly 200,000, and out of that population, www.foreclosures.com lists a staggering 769 homes that are for sale due to foreclosures, tax lien, bankruptcy and other unfortunate situations. In April 2010, one in every 425 housing units received a foreclosure filing in the state of Ohio alone.

With every foreclosure mentioned in the paper, there is a sad story behind it. Why did the foreclosures happen? Many foreclosures occurred because of bad loans given out, but also from job losses. It was a ripple effect.  When people lost their jobs, they could not pay their mortgage, could not eat out, and cut back on luxury items, which in turn affected business.  Businesses had to close.  What did that mean?  More job loss.  I heard a heartbreaking story of a real family in crisis who owned a business.

This family had to shut the doors to their dream business because of the economy. Sadly, they had to inform the employees that they no longer had jobs. They were also going to lose their home, because it was connected to the family business. The husband could not take the pressure anymore, so he decided to leave his wife while right in the middle of the crisis. He even fled the country, leaving his wife to deal with all of it alone. The same week that their bankruptcy was filed she had to also file divorce papers.

Every foreclosure represents a family in crisis. Every job loss represents a family placed in crisis. Even though the housing market seems to be better the unemployment rate is still high, gas over $3.00 a gallon and sky high groceries.  In the Washington Post, May 2, 2013, it reported the suicide rate among middle-aged Americans climbed a startling 28 percent in a decade; a period that included the recession and the mortgage crisis, the government reported.

Without hope, people make bad decisions to escape the crisis, which can take on many forms through drugs, alcohol, depression, suicide, or just giving up. Some take a more drastic form of escape, leaving their family and even fleeing to another country. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18).  These families need a message of hope to direct them in the right way. We must deliver that vision, that hope! Vision here means revelation… teaching… preaching. God’s people must always be guided by His Word, His wisdom.   No ifs, no buts, else they will perish.

Without hope there is no life. Without hope, people will and do perish. We have a message of hope that will lead them to truth that will help them deal with their current trials. We have what the world is looking for! We have that information that will lead them to God, Who will give them hope. We, as God’s people, have a duty, an obligation to send out a message of hope to a tragic world. We have a responsibility to do whatever we can to lend support with our tithes, offerings and prayers to do the work that God has called us to do.

God told His disciples in Luke 12:48 “Everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” 

Much has been give to us! Let’s become passionate about delivering that message of hope to a world that is in desperate need of it!