Scarcity or Abundance?

Do you view life through a scarcity lens or an abundance lens?

That's what I'm asking myself after reading a line from Brene Brown's book, The Gifts of Imperfection. She writes that by the time our feet hit the ground in the morning, our minds are already focused on scarcity: "I didn't get enough sleep." "I don't have enough time today."

I would have thought myself an abundance girl and not a scarcity girl, but when she put it in those terms, I stand guilty as charged. I would add, "I don't have enough money for that," "I don't have enough intelligence/education/experience for that," and my ubiquitous, "I don't have enough hair for that." (If you've known me a week, you've probably heard me whine about my scarcity of hair.)

The temptation to believe we don't have enough may be the biggest lie Satan hurls at us. Especially those of us who live in America. But how easily I fall for it, especially when it comes to the immaterial things of life. I am aware that four pairs of running shoes and two crockpots are more than enough. On those dreaded days when I'm trying to cram $200 worth of groceries in my overcrowded pantry, I'm aware than we have more than enough food. My driveway is filled with an abundance of vehicles, my social calendar is filled with an abundance of friends, and my house is filled with an abundance of children. Clearly, scarcity is not a problem here.

Until I think of it in terms of time. And energy. And talent and creativity and productivity. Then I can be tempted to think that I don't have enough, and that always leads to a place of discontentment, comparison, and complaints. That is not a place God wants me to live.

Do I really believe His Word? Do I believe that He has given me all I need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3)? That I have everything I need, at all times (2 Corinthians 9:8)? That He will meet all my needs according to the riches of His glory (Philippians 4:19)? Am I willing to believe that even in my greatest weakness--or my greatest scarcity--that He is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9)?

I believe. Now help my unbelief, loving Father. Don't let scarcity thinking rob me of gratitude. Don't let it take my eyes off the unfathomable abundance You have blessed me with. Replace my "I don't have enough" talk with "I have more than enough." I walk in relationship with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, who knows me and loves me personally. He is more than enough.