Have you worked to get free from a poverty mindset, but still find that it creeps in now and then? It can be frustrating when you’re doing all the hard work of learning not to be a spiritual orphan and trying to embrace your identity as a child of God, and then BAM! All of a sudden you start struggling again with a poverty mindset. Let me just tell you, that you are not alone!
An orphan mentality may be subtle and slip in with a tinge of anxiety, or it may send you into a downward spiral of fear, grasping at any straw to feel like you are in control. It whispers subtle lies and convinces that you must, in your own strength, find a solution to your problems, or strive to keep your place of promotion. In the mountaintops and the valleys, poverty stalks and tries to convince you that you are still an orphan and that you must take care of yourself in your own strength.
Why? The enemy wants to keep us in a poverty mentality because he is keenly aware that when you know you’re a child of the King, you’re unstoppable in the Kingdom.
So how do we silence the dissonance, break free from the theatre of performing for our needs, and step out into the peaceful partnership with sonship? We must first recognize this mindset for what it is so that we can confront our poor thinking, repent from pauperhood, and align with the truth that our Daddy is a good King who provides all of our needs according to HIS riches! So, how do you know if you are a spiritual pauper? Let’s take a deeper look at this today.
ARE YOU THE “ELDER BROTHER” IN YOUR LIFE STORY?
The story of the prodigal son from Luke 15 illustrates a poverty mindset clearly. As we recount this story together, invite Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of your life where you are still operating as the elder brother…
Having squandered his inheritance, the youngest son came home seeking refuge. His father was so excited to see him that he threw him a party. He had been saving the fattened calf for such an occasion, and finally, it was time to celebrate. Everyone came to the festivity except for the elder brother; he stayed out in the field. When his father didn’t see the older brother at the party, he went looking for him. He found him outside…alone.
“Why aren’t you coming to celebrate?” the father asked.
The older brother yelled, “You gave him the fattened calf, but you haven’t even given me a goat!”
His father was stunned. He looked at his son, staring into his soul with the eyes of a loving father and said, “I gave him the fattened calf, but you own the farm…” (summarized from Luke 15:11-31).
Why in the world did the older brother hang out waiting for his father to give him a goat when he owned the whole farm? He failed to recognize that he was a son and not a servant.
YOU MAY HAVE A POVERTY MINDSET IF…
If you recognize any of these 7 signs in your life, you may have a poverty mindset:
1. You require your close friends to have an exclusive relationship with you. You get jealous when they have a relationship with anyone else. Why? Because you fear that they will like them instead of you. You believe that there isn’t enough love to go around and that you will live in lack of relationship, connection, or attention.
2. You assign negative motives to people who are prosperous, famous, or powerful. Why? Probably because you are jealous of them, so you reduce them in your mind by building a case against them.
3. You are jealous of people who have more than you have. Like the elder brother, you can’t celebrate when others have breakthrough in life. Why? You don’t understand that in God’s world there is always more than enough. Therefore, somebody else’s prosperity doesn’t reduce God’s ability to prosper you!
4. You find a problem with every opportunity and are terrified of taking risks. Why? You don’t know that God wants to bless you, or you don’t feel worthy of His abundance.
5. You always feel like something is about to go wrong. In fact, when you are having a good day, you feel like a bad day is coming. Why? You have probably invited a foreboding spirit into your life. (Foreboding means an impending sense of doom).
6. You live in shame. (Guilt says I did something wrong, but shame says I am something wrong). Why? You don’t love yourself and you don’t understand the love of the Father!
7. You feel like a powerless victim. Life feels like it is happening to you. You often imagine yourself as a child in a grown-up world. Why? You aren’t convinced of your nobility. You haven’t come to grips with the fact that you are more than a conqueror!
IS THIS INVISIBLE FORCE IMPACTING YOU?
When we live in poverty of soul, our perceived unworthiness, rooted in our lack of self-love, is kind of like turning two magnets in the repelling direction. Although the repelling force is invisible, it is nonetheless a powerful and viable deterrent to any connection.
Unworthiness and lack of self-love are an invisible force field, and like those magnets, they repel prosperity and hold us in poverty. In fact, the only way for this magnetic detraction to be neutralized is for a stronger outside influence to overcome its resistance.
GETTING FREE FROM POVERTY
The revelation of our true identity will destroy the spirit of poverty in our lives. Until that happens we will keep thinking there are limits on what we get to have. As a result, we are jealous of anyone who receives something that we don’t have. This leaks into all aspects of our lives including work, friends, and positions within the church.
Having a strong sense of identity and viewing ourselves as sons and daughters of God protects us from self-pity, depression and a victim mentality. Check out this blog for 8 practical steps for leaving behind a poverty mindset.
This is the biggest discount I’ve ever done on “Poverty, Riches and Wealth” because I really want to see a generation of believers rise up to walk in the fullness of what it means to be a child of God! If you know someone who needs to leave behind the land of “never-enough” then I think this would make a great Christmas gift. Order by December 16th to get it in time for Christmas!
The promised land of princehood is filled with the Father’s blessings. God wants to lavish His love on us, pour out His blessings in us, and give more than we can contain! The Psalms put it best, “How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever” (Ps. 112:1-3).
Do you still struggle with a poverty mindset? Which symptom from the list most hits home to you and how do you see God bringing freedom in that place? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments below!
