What's Your Mindset?
What is your mindset when you have a little? I recently read 1 Kings 17. It’s the story of the widow:
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to [a]Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he set out and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks [for firewood]. He called out to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a jar, so that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”
12 But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar. See, I am gathering a few sticks so that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it [as our last meal] and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. Just make me a little bread from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 For this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the day that the Lord sends rain [again] on the face of the earth.’” 15 She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, in accordance with the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah.
The widow woman had planned to eat her last meal with her son, but then Elijah came along and met her. Too often, we say we’re waiting on payday or we’re waiting for money to hit our account before we can bless someone else. Yes, many of us will give our last to help someone in need, but if you had one meal left would you REALLY give it to someone else so that they could eat? When the tough gets going or the going gets tough, what is your mindset? It’s super easy to have a scarcity mindset when you don’t know when your next meal is coming or if you have just enough to get you to your next payday; Even if you’re self-employed and business is slow, it’s easy to fall into the scarcity mindset trap.
Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.” (NLT). Psalm 24 tells us that everything belongs to God. We don’t have to have a scarcity mindset because God knows that you need food in your pantry. God knows you need that bill paid. God knows your children need school clothes and school supplies. God knows everything you need and everything in this world belongs to him. Do you believe God can get you the money for that down payment? Do you believe God can you give the money to pay your bills on time? Do you believe God can give you that raise? He can!
Both Elijah and the woman had to had faith. Elijah had to have faith that he heard God speaking to him and act on what the Lord was saying. The woman in the story had to also have faith that what the prophet was telling her was true. When you’re down to your last, it’s not always easy to give that thing up, but I encourage you to do what the Lord is telling you to do; Even if it’s your last. Sometimes, so many thoughts run through our minds like: What if this happens? How are we going to make it to this week or that week?
Also, she sowed a seed into the prophet. There will always be seed time and harvest. I believe when we sow seeds, we will get it back as long as the earth is still here. Genesis 8:22 says, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer and day and night Shall not cease.” (AMP). You don’t have to worry about not receiving your harvest because you will get it back. What if your seed is setting you for a blessing? Next time you’re presented with a situation THAT YOU KNOW THE LORD IS SPEAKING TO YOU ABOUT, do what he says and you’ll be so glad you did.
