Abundance or Scarcity: What To Remember When You Feel Depleted
A dear friend texted and shared her husband was being admitted into the ICU.
Another friend shared through tears of heartbreak in her marriage about the impending unknowns.
The news of a deadly attack on U.S. service men and women overseas in Afghanistan was reported, alongside video of millions willing to die for an opportunity to escape the surrounding terror.
I heard from my doctor that the pain I’m still feeling in my ankle will only heal if I wear a boot for six weeks. There are no shortcuts, and it needs rest.
The ups and downs of the past week left me feeling depleted, and I am willing to bet that you feel it within your own circles as well. Your friend. Your news. Your pain.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that [you] may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ESV
These words of Jesus about his coming to offer abundant life sends me doubting when weeks like these feel anything but abundant.
And I wonder, how can we truly live out of a mindset of abundance when everything around us threatens to drain us dry? Here are a few things that have helped this past week:
Reflecting on Nature
Seasons as a means of analogy never fail to provide ample life lessons. With its green and lush landscapes, summer represents a season of abundance, doesn’t it? Look around. Take notice. There is abundant sunshine, abundant daylight hours, and abundant food growing. I even watch the animals in summer, eating without rush, knowing there is plenty to go around.
Reflecting on nature allows my heart to remember the designed natural order of abundance and that it is available for you and I as well.
A Scarcity Mindset
But we know by now, the abundance of summer will slowly transition as the calendar rolls forward, and with each falling leaf we will feel less and less full. Any notion of warmth will come solely from baked goods, crackling fires, and families gathered as the sun sets earlier and cooler temperatures enter the scene.
It’s in this next season that we observe animals rushing with a scarcity mindset, knowing from instinct and previous experience that there is wisdom in storing up. Sleep will wane as they overindulge both in pleasure and work, busying themselves on mission to prepare for what’s ahead.
It makes me wonder if this becomes our mindset all too often. Fully aware of our lack, we spend more time hustling to store up on what we think will last, and allow our energy and joy to become depleted.
For me, when I feel depleted, it is good to remember that this is not all there is to life. It’s good for me to remember that if I am not finding enough time to spend on that which is most important, then I’m forfeiting the abundant life I’m designed to live.
Remember Our Source
While acknowledging the danger of running dry, perhaps there remains wisdom in recognizing our limits. When I noticeably tire of the world’s demands and expectations, it is time for me to draw from a source that never runs dry. If we aren’t careful we allow our scarcity mentality to inform our view of God, who is the one true source for abundance.
Maybe we feel like God will “run out” on us. Maybe He will run out of love, or patience, or answers.
As we project our lack of faith on a good Father, He reminds us that even though He calls us to an abundant life, we won’t achieve it with our own efforts.
Contrary to scavenging animals, it is not from our accumulation that abundance is found, it is from His abundant gifts:
He loves from the abundance of His steadfast love. (Psalm 69:13)
He gives in accordance with His abundant mercy. (Psalm 69:16)
He brings us through suffering to a place of abundance nearer to Him. (Psalm 66:10-12)
So friends, if today all you can see is how much you lack, take heart.
You may lack extra time, the ability to answer all of the questions, or the right words to comfort that hurting friend, but we can always find comfort falling into the arms of a good Father who never runs out of good gifts for His children. In fact, He laid down his life for you, so that you can experience abundance in every season.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 ESV