Finding Freedom From $100,000 of Debt

Eric Baker is a successful network engineer. Today he works with multinational banking and financial services firms. But a few years ago, he could barely keep his head above water.  

“I had a bill from the IRS that was like maybe $35-$40,000 at one point. There was student loans. There was a car loan…”

Altogether, Eric owed over $100,000 and was doing all he could just to make minimum payments.  

“Well, it's depressing, right. It makes you feel as if you're working just to survive, you know, and you don't really have any real purpose, it's just to pay the bills and just to survive and just enough to get to the next check. It's this never-ending hamster wheel that you're on.”

One day, while channel surfing, Eric landed on The 700 Club.

“They were talking about my situation. It was just – my spiritual ears perked up."

Eric prayed with Gordon Robertson and received Christ. From that point on, his life took a new turn.  

“I developed a hunger for God. I wanted to know more about Him. So, I started to just read the Word. And this is something that I’ve never done before. I mean, I would read the Bible, but it was always like a chore, you know. It was work. It felt like work.”

As Eric grew in his newfound faith, he continued to reach out to CBN for help.  

“I called. I called the number, and someone prayed with me over the phone and I just felt so encouraged.  CBN was there for me when I needed help the most. I didn't have any other lifeline. I didn't have anyone else to talk to. And these people, you know, I don't know how, three or four in the morning, these people are on the phone and they're talking to me and they're praying with me, and they're encouraging me. Where else are you going to get something like that?”

The change in Eric was so noticeable, even his boss mentioned it during his next performance review.

“I got a sparkling review. He says, 'Eric, you are an indispensable part of this team.' This is what he said to me. He says, 'Whatever you're doing, keep doing it.'"

As Eric learned more about God, he began to start giving.  He became a CBN partner and soon increased his giving. He says it wasn’t long before he started seeing results.   

“When I started to tithe more, I saw more of his faithfulness. I saw more of his faithfulness. I got an almost $20,000 bonus. And this was just like a few weeks after I started tithing more, I got a raise.”

After receiving that 12% raise and bonus, Eric was able to get back on track financially. He began paying down his debts and today he’s almost completely debt-free. He still supports CBN and encourages others to give back to God.  

“Tithing is a gift to us, you know?  It's important because it intensifies our faith in God. And you really get the opportunity to see him in action. Taste the Lord and see that he is good. You have to step out in faith.”