abundance

Abundance is one of my favorite “spiritual” words, because it doesn’t simply mean abundance in the worldly sense of having more than enough; it refers to the abundant life God offers us: a life far beyond our wildest imagination and craziest dreams. He wants to give us His whole heart in exchange for our weak and petty visions of our life. He never wants us to settle.

We can turn into zombies of Christ if we’re not careful- saying the right things, doing the right things…but the life in us is gone. The excitement we once had for Jesus’ radical hold on us has been exchanged for resentment and half-hearted devotion. Once the life is gone, what’s the point? Then I am taken back to those horrible, awful feelings of never being enough. I can try, try, try, but nothing I do will ever be good enough, nothing I am will ever be good enough. This is the mindset of scarcity, and scarcity is a scary thing, as I learned from one of my favorite authors- the great Brené Brown. In a mindset of scarcity, we are constantly looking to others to compare ourselves to, to see how we measure up. We don’t believe we have value unless we are better than; so naturally, we find many sources which tell us we are nothing. Just check out your Facebook feed and see how you feel after seeing picture after picture of pretty people living pretty lives. What you don’t see is the not-so-pretty parts of their days- when they first get up in the morning, when they get in a fight with their boyfriend, when their dog throws up all over the carpet…you get the picture. We have an image of the people around us that is based on what we want to see, what the world wants to see, instead of what actually is. Basing our self-worth on what others around us think we should be is fickle and frail, and based on lies.

Instead we have to look to God for our identity and security; it comes from Christ and Christ alone, and if we look to Him, we find that He has actually placed within us more than enough to live the life He has called us to. We may not think we are pretty, smart, kind, tough, ____________ enough, but He made us just as we are and can use us just. as. we. are. And He delights in us- He sees us as absolutely beautiful creations. If only we could believe that about ourselves, and about each other!

This is a lesson I have to learn over and over again and each time it is gloriously refreshing. There is nothing better than remembering that I am loved beyond what I could ever hope for or imagine not despite of, but because of, my flaws–that those are what God uses to speak to others through me.

I’ve had enough of not enough. It’s an illusion and the truth is that there’s enough for everyone, for all of us. We all have something to contribute, and my contribution is no less than anyone’s else’s. There is simply no comparison. The Lord made us all equal in His image, so comparing two different people is like comparing apples to oranges.

In my Communications class we talked about how power is granted, not inherent. This couldn’t be more true- I can either give others power over my life to implicitly or explicitly tell me if I’m enough, or I can give the power back to God (who, by the way, already has all the power) and believe what He says about me. Because He will never say differently, no matter how many times I stumble. I will always be His beloved, precious, daughter. And I always have the choice to see through the lens of abundance- to see all He has given me and done for me in the past, and to be grateful for what He is doing now.

God wants us to enjoy our life on earth to the full- not wait until we are disciplined enough or have our act together. He gives us abundance now. It’s just a matter of whether we see it or not.