“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and ALL THESE THINGS WILL BE ADDED TO YOU.”
Matthew 6:33
Are you living in abundance or poverty?
Lately, I’ve realized how much my default is to live in a scarcity mindset. That everything depends on me and in order to avoid uncertainty or not having enough in the future, I must control the situation to avoid that at all costs. Oftentimes, this translates into taking control over situations that are best surrendered to the Lord and carrying burdens that aren’t mine to carry.
You see, I know in my head that the Lord is Good and Provider and Trustworthy and Faithful and _________ (fill-in-the-blank). However, my heart forgets and I act out of a belief that it all depends on me and I better be prepared just in case the Lord doesn’t come through. It sounds ridiculous when I type it out but it’s my heart posture most of the time although I usually don’t realize it and then wonder why I’m so stressed/ exhausted/ overwhelmed/ frustrated/ burdened/ anxious/ angry.
And, oftentimes, once I do realize what’s going on in my heart, I quickly invent excuses to justify my behavior and mindset.
~Well, if I only had a husband, the burden to provide and run my “household” wouldn’t all be on me.
~It can’t hurt to be prepared and isn’t that acting with wisdom?
~Next month, I’ll be better at resting and being balanced and not work so many shifts.
~This is just part of my personality and the Lord created me this way so He should be okay with it.
~If I don’t work all the time, then how can I give generously?
~If the Lord would just give me a better job/ circumstance, I wouldn’t have to operate like this.
~I know the Lord is faithful but I need to be responsible and make sure I can pay all my bills and this is just the way it has to be.
So, lately, the Lord has been revealing to me how prevalent this is in my life and how I’ve operated this way basically forever. Of course, I’ve become more balanced over time but I’m still learning to apply all my growth and healing I experienced in 2018-2019 to what I consider “real life.” And it’s a P-R-O-C-E-S-S. And, I’m constantly growing and becoming more intimate with Christ and in Him I have the power to demolish strongholds and renew my mind as I have the mind of Christ.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
I’m focusing on the financial aspect of my life currently but this poverty mindset can be applied to all areas. When we dwell on the things we LACK, we miss out on the FEAST the Lord has prepared for us since we always have a seat at the table and abundance is always ours for the taking. The visual that helps me is from the movie “Hook” when adult Peter Pan (Robin Williams) eats at the table with the Lost Boys and it’s a true feast that puts our American Thanksgiving to shame and Peter Pan can’t see any of the food or partake in it until he opens up his imagination and mind to what’s been in front of him all along.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:5
Feasting in the presence of my enemies. In the midst of the crisis/ tragedy/job loss/ sickness/ ______. It’s then that the Lord prepares the feast for us and anoints our heads with oil and OUR CUP OVERFLOWS.
It’s just a mind shift. A choosing to focus on the blessings and extravagant love and grace overflowing in our lives if we just draw our attention to it and let our gratitude magnify so that we see more and more of the Lord’s fingerprints in every little thing. And this gets us to move from gratitude for the created things (blessings) to the CREATOR. And, it stirs up faith in our hearts that if the Lord has blessed us in this area or other seemingly unrelated areas, He can surely DO IT AGAIN. His past faithfulness and track record of providing us all we need is evidence that He will prove faithful in this situation just as He always has. As my aunt wisely said, “Raina, do you think that God will stop providing and caring for you after a 33-year history of this and He’ll just stop providing now? That He’s brought you this far to abandon you to do it on your own?”
If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself. 2 Timothy 2:13
He remains Faithful, y’all. It’s true. He’s the only one who won’t and actually CANNOT let you down because it isn’t in His nature. We have all we need because He’s IN us and He’s WITH us. And He’s a good Dad.
His divine power has granted to us ALL THINGS THAT PERTAIN TO LIFE AND GODLINESS, through the knowledge of him who called us to[c] his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
2 Peter 1:3-4
I can feel the Lord asking me to continue to take small steps (which actually are giant leaps in the Kingdom – Neil Armstrong had it right) of faith. To lay down my need to control and surrender it all to Him. To let Him have the reigns of my life. And every step of faith frees me up more to live the most extravagant life of abundance and delight as I journey with my Father in this grand adventure to live out my Kingdom calling.
I GET to trust Him with my future and my present and for redemption and healing of my past. I GET to obey His still small voice. I am honored to love Him first of all so that I can be Love to those around me. And it all starts with daily asking Him to renew my perspective to reflect His and then stepping out into obedience based on this renewed perspective and His promptings. And watch how He’ll show up and provide and give immeasurably more than I can ask for or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). And, realize He already has.
Love you all,
Raina
For all the promises of God find their YES in Him. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20
