Scarcity vs. Abundance| May Glimpses of Joy

“I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” – John 10:10

In May, there was a lot of uncertainty at my workplace. Our leaders had to make some hard decisions due to our budget numbers and we weren’t sure what that would mean for our team and our work.

This is not the first time I’ve been in this position. This was the story of my old position and rather than a month, it went on for years. Being reminded of that experience that was, let’s just say, “not great,” brought back some familiar but uncomfortable fears and worries.

I realized that in this uncertainty, I was looking at my work life through a lens of scarcity. There’s not enough money in the budget. There are not enough people interested in our mission. There’s not enough time to get the work done. There’s just not enough for us to succeed and strive.

I realized when I live my life believing this is a world of scarcity, my behavior becomes ugly and joyless. When I see others succeed, I believe they are taking the last drops of success available. Therefore, I will resent them, try to take it away from them and grasp tightly to anything I have in my own possession because there’s no more to go around so I better not lose it or share it.

And, because we live in fallen world, there are scarcities. But, we also have a sovereign God who abounds with abundance.

He has enough love for all people.
He has enough forgiveness for any and all sins.
He has enough sovereignty to care for all needs.

And I believe he wants to share that abundance with us and for us to live believing in that abundance. Because when we do, we are sharing his abundance with others and eliminating more scarcity from this world. For me living in abundance means:

There is an abundance of success.
- Practically, that means at work I’m going in every day believing what I do matters and we can change the world. I’m not going to worry that I’m not enough or there are not enough resources. Because I believe success comes to those who are fearless in their pursuit and that God loves to work miracles in our shortcomings. But even if success doesn’t come, I believe that God is big enough to provide for me in what comes next.
There is an abundance of good things.
- This might sound weird, but I think I like to save up and not use good things because I fear I’ll run out. But I want to live believing there’s an abundance. I’m going to drink that bottle of wine I’ve been saving for the perfect moment. I’m going to read the books on my shelf. I’m going to go out for ice cream on a Tuesday. I’m going to embrace the good things I have in front of me right now because I believe God will provide more good tomorrow. Just like the Hebrews in the wilderness, I believe God will provide more manna tomorrow.
There is an abundance of love.
- If I see others striving in relationships, that doesn’t mean I can’t also strive or that they don’t have enough love left to give to me. Secondly, I don’t need to protect and isolate myself so I’m not hurt by others, because God’s love is enough for me even when others fall short. I’ve heard it said time and time again, that the more you love the more you have to give and I want to actually test the saying in hopes of finding its true.

In short, whenever I feel fear come rushing in, I’ve been trying to ask myself, am I looking at this situation through a lens of scarcity or abundance? Because although there’s a lot of scarcity in the world, I know our God of abundance wins.

Each month I try to record the little glimpses of joy infused in my life. Here are my glimpses from May:

Driving through our cute little town on a beautiful day with the windows down, Oldies blasting and a hard days work on the house under my belt.
Sleeping in the sun on the hammock on our patio.
An answered prayer after putting my trust in God’s plan.
Meeting the most hospitable women I’ve never met.
Taking time off to do what I feel called to do.
Spontaneous bonfires with s’mores – just sitting around the fire with no agenda and loving our new backyard.
Improving that curb appeal!
Learning that a servant’s heart comes from practice and obedience.
Watching Miss USA just like I did when I was little! Watching live TV always makes me feel a part of something bigger since there are people around the world doing the same thing.
A bittersweet night celebrating our last small group together after six years.