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Thursday, February 16, 2023

Do I Have a Shortage or a Surplus Mindset?

In Psalm 23:5-6 I read, “My cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” (NIV)


Is my life overflowing? Like most people, it may be overflowingbut not with goodness. I tend to overbook my calendar, overspend my money, overload my emotions, overwork my body, overcrowd my days, and overvalue the approval of others. As a result, I can wind up overstressed, overanxious, and overwhelmed! I may be far from experiencing the goodness of God.


Why do I let myself get overextended? Often the fear of missing out motivates me to do more. But the truth is I’m not missing out on anything when I rest in the goodness and provision of God.            


God wants to move me from being overwhelmed to overflowing. He wants to meet all my needsand he can! First, I need to recognize two fundamentally different approaches to life that either keep me from God’s abundance or bring me into God’s abundance: a shortage mindset and a surplus mindset.


With a shortage mindset, I constantly think, “I don’t have enough time. I don’t have enough money. I don’t have enough energy. I don’t have enough contacts, opportunities, knowledge, education, or whatever.” It’s the sense that I’m always a day late and a dollar short. A shortage mindset focuses on my limited resources, and the result is an overwhelmed life.


A surplus mindset focuses on God’s limitless resources, and the result is an overflowing life.


Have I ever worried that the person breathing next to me is stealing my air? Of course not. You know that God created more than enough air for everybody to have all the air we need.


The Bible includes words like abundance, plentiful, abounding, and bountiful to describe what God has to offer me. God has more than enough to meet all my needs and everybody else’s needs at the same time.


Jesus said, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of” (John 10:10 The Message).


I don’t have to worry about running short of anything, because God is the source of my life. He wants to fill me with an endless supply of his goodness, joy, blessing, hope, and peace, so I’m able to say, “My cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (Psalm 23:5-6 NIV).

In summary, Is my life overflowing? Like most it may be overflowing—but not with goodness. Why do I let myself get overextended? Often the fear of missing out motivates me to do more. But the truth is I’m not missing out on anything when I rest in the goodness and provision of God. God wants to move me from being overwhelmed to overflowing. He wants to meet all my needsand he can! I need to recognize two fundamentally different approaches: a shortage mindset and a surplus mindset. With a shortage mindset, I think, “I don’t have enough”. I’m always a day late and a dollar short. A shortage mindset focuses on my limited resources, and the result is an overwhelmed life. A surplus mindset focuses on God’s limitless resources, and the result is an overflowing life. Know that God created more than enough air for everybody to have all the air we need. God has more than enough to meet all my needs and everybody else’s needs at the same time. I don’t have to worry about running short, because God is the source. He wants to fill me with an endless supply, so I’m able to say, “My cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”. 

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