an abundance of bread

I stumbled into a revelation today. It is espescially personal to me today, but it is something the Lord has for all of His children.

ABUNDANCE.

Recently, while in the Secret Place with the Lord, I had the realization that I have been living in a scarcity mindset when it comes to certain things. And that seed of revelation has slowly grown to reveal the innermost workings of my heart: for the scarcity is not just in one area of my life, but I believe and "know" the scarcity in all areas of my life.

So what is a "scarcity mindset"? Scarcity mindset is a psychology term that is often thrown around when it comes to people who have little, or believe they have little because of past experience. According to an article by an American Psychological Association magazine, Monitor on Psychology, "This scarcity mindset consumes what Shafir calls "mental bandwidth" — brainpower that would otherwise go to less pressing concerns, planning ahead and problem-solving. This deprivation can lead to a life absorbed by preoccupations that impose ongoing cognitive deficits and reinforce self-defeating actions" (Novotney, 2014).

Essentially, people with this mindset tend to make bad decisions or have negative outlooks about their lives that lead to "self defeat" due to the fact they are so consumed with the "little".

So now that we have the definition of that out of the way, let us learn of its opposer: a mindset of abundance.

A mindset of abundance is likely just as self explanatory as the scarcity mindset: it is to believe there is more for you, which if I assume it acts on the human cognition as effectively as the scarcity mindset, would likely lead to someone making better decisions because they are in expectation and openness to receive the good of life, rather than settling for the bad.

In a Forbes article the abundance mindset was expressed in leaders as this, "They [those with the abundance mindset] recognize the opportunity to learn and grow from their struggles, and they focus on expanding the pie and creating new opportunities, rather than worrying about the current limitations they face" (Westover, 2021).  

As we suspected, the abundance mindset leads us away from the negative around us and into a world of possibilities, despite the reality of difficulties or "lack" we might truly face.

To move this back into biblical terms, the Lord showed me today that He truly has "abundance" for me, He is calling me out of the "scarcity mindset".

What's funny is He has been beating me over the head with the term "abundance" for possibly a year now. I know He is a God of abundance, He shows us that throughout scripture. My first encounter of knowing the Lord as a God of abundance was the story of Jonah (Jonah 4:6). When God grows the little leafy plant for Jonah to protect him from the scorching sun, I remember in my little 16 year old mind thinking "wow, God didn't have to do that, Jonah was literally pouting and complaining, and yet the Lord still provided an abundance for him-a plant he did not need nor deserve". Now the Lord did have other motives for creating that plant besides just "easing" Jonah's discomfort in the sun, but the "ease of discomfort" was one of His specifically identified reasons.

So, I have known - in the sense of "head-knowledge" - a long time that He is a God of abundance. And as stated, especially this year, that term has come up and up again in my journalings. Yet, I did not see or believe for this abundance in my life, I didn't have the "heart-knowledge" of it.

Where is this abundance Lord?

Now to summarize: I recognized maybe seven years ago that God was a God of abundance. He started really stirring this term/idea in me about a year ago, then perhaps two weeks ago I realized that I have been living in the scarcity mindset, and just today, I connected all the dots.

Abundance is not just some term we throw around that God does for everyone besides us. We Christians are so fond of the idea that we - me, myself, and I alone - are excluded from God's provision or goodness.

But, His abundance is something He wants to apply to your life - yes even yours. You, who might not remember the last time you prayed or went to church, maybe even opened your bible, you who have been searching far and wide for something to quench your longings, you who have prayed over and over again for the same thing to no avail, you who have given up on the healing you desire, you who find yourself so bogged down by the things of this world you can hardly stand - You, who like me, ask yourself, where is the abundance Lord? Where are You?

Yes, even you.

The Lord is calling me, and you (should this resonate), out of our scarcity mindset and into the mindset of His abundance!

What sealed the deal for me this very morning was John 6:1-15, the story of the five thousand with the loaves of bread and fish. Yes, I like many raised in the church have heard this story a million times. But today it was the last piece of the "puzzle of abundance" He had laid out for me today.

In verse 12-13 I read, "When they all had enough to eat, He said to the disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten".

They had little. Only five pieces of bread and "two small fish". This to me represents the truth of our current circumstance. Maybe we are living in scarcity. Maybe we truly do have little of whatever it is that we need more of.

For me, I have often lived in scarcity of intimacy in relationships. I had friends, family, people close to me, but I lived feeling "unknown", I lived with lack of intimacy and true fellowship with others. It was the reality of my situation. So, when I first encountered being known by someone in my life, I held on with white knuckles. I did not want to let it go. It was the first true love I had ever known, the first time I felt seen. But it was not necessarily the best path for me.

So, just like those who are living in the scarcity mindset and take out those "cash now" loans with high interest rates discussed in "The psychology of scarcity", because it was the first money they knew (for the sake of the allusion), I did not recognize the other possibilites the Lord had for me, I wanted only the "little" I now had, despite it not being His plan of abundance. I shut my eyes to "expanding the pie and creating new opportunities" (Westover, 2021) because I was so worried about the reality of my limited intimacy with others.

But, the Lord has the abundance mindset. He creates from the "little", if we let Him. If we yield the "little" that we have, if we trust Him with it, if we trust Him to provide, to be Jehovah-Jireh, He will bless with the abundance.

Just like He took those five loaves and two fish from the boy - who trusted Him with the only food he had at the time - and made enough to feed five thousand people until satisfied with more left over than they began with.

Can we praise the Lord for fresh revelation today?!

God does not take for the taking, He takes for the giving.

Release your scarcity mindset today, and whatever you might be wrongly clinging to because of it. Cling instead, as a yielded soul, to the Creator of your heart. He is one who desires to "...bestow on [you] a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair..." (Isaiah 61:3). He truly is the God of abundance, even in what might very well be your reality of little.

Once we recognize our fear of going without, and yield that to God, He makes something of it for us.

If you are still struggling to understand why yielding the scarcity mindset to God is so important, I will leave you with this question:

Do you weigh your fear as more powerful than God? Or do you weigh God as more powerful than your fear?

Holding onto the scarcity mindset is partnering with the idea that "my fear of going without is more worthy of recognition than the truth of God's provision".

Ultimately, you are choosing your earthly fear over trusting a supernatural God!

This is a revelation for me today too people! There is no shame here. I am simply here to encourage you towards seeing God for who He is: the God of abundance.

He knows what you have currently, He knows what you need, and He knows if you trust Him or not. He simply desires your broken little human heart, and to heal it at that (more abundance)!

"...He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..." Isaiah 61:1.

He says come as you are, and I will take you that way. But once I have you I will renew you, I will heal you, I will bless you.

He doesn't just take us as is and leave us that way! He transforms us (2 Corinthians 3:18 is just one instance of this proof). This is one example of Him being the God of abundance.

He wants you to believe in Him for the provision! For the abundance! He does not want us in lack!

He is the God of abundance.

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References

Novotney, A. (2014, February). The psychology of scarcity. Monitor on Psychology. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/scarcity

Westover, J. H. (2021, June 9). Council Post: Abundance mindset: Leading from a place of possibility. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/06/09/abundance mindset-leading-from-a-place-of-possibility/?sh=20d6422066db