We’ve talked about using God’s goodness, gratitude, and praise to chase away “not enough” thoughts, and today we talk about how to use hope to overcome a scarcity mindset.
Hope’s Basis
Even though I’ve been a Christian for decades, hope is a relatively new friend of mine. A scarcity mindset trapped me for so long that it seems like a stranger.
When you feel like you don’t have enough, it’s hard to find a basis for hope, which naturally focuses on tomorrow. If every day looking forward feels frightening and unsure, how can you hope?
My ability to hope grew as my faith and trust in God grew. I had to first believe that God fulfills his promises in abundance, and trust what he says is true, before I could use hope to overcome my scarcity mindset.
Reasons to Trust
I began studying God’s characteristics to build my trust in him:
- Constant presence Psalm 46:1
- Ability to keep promises without fail Joshua 21:45
- Abundant provision Genesis 22:14
- Overflowing love Psalm 13:5
- Safety and security Psalm 18
- Perfect, transcendent peace Philippians 4:7
Hope for Every Day
Now I build hope into my daily prayers to overcome my scarcity mindset.
When I’m tempted to doubt financial provision, for instance, I pray something like this:
“Lord, I refuse to believe you will leave me stranded. I trust that you will be my Provider, as you always have been. I place my hope in you that you will provide a solution to this problem, perhaps in a way I can’t see right now.”
This kind of prayer helps me out of the pit of not-enough thoughts.
My fears are calmed when I deliberately choose to place my hope in God’s promises. My faith clings to God’s character and God’s promises, and hope steadies my heart.
God's promises calm our fears. Click To TweetOnly God’s abundant gifts help me overcome my scarcity mindset. Today I thank and praise him for all the ways he’s helped me overcome my not-enough thinking, and how he’s given me hope as a healing balm.
Questions for you:
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- Have you had trouble finding hope for tomorrow? Why?
- When you are trapped in not-enough thoughts, how can prayer help you?
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UPDATE 2019: I have an entire book to help you overcome a scarcity mindset. Check it out HERE:
Continue reading the other parts of this series here:
The Abundant Life, Part 2
The Abundant Life, Part 3
The Abundant Life, Part 4
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