Power Thoughts: 12 Strategies to Win the Battle of the Mind (24 page)

Many times, we think of needs in terms of the basic necessities of life—food, shelter, clothing, and finances to purchase these things. These represent our physical needs, but I believe God created us to need more than these essentials. Our needs are varied. We don’t simply need money, nourishment, a roof over our heads, and clothes to wear. We also need wisdom, strength, health, friends, and loved ones; and we need the gifts and talents and abilities to help us do what we are supposed to do in life. We need many things, and God is willing to meet
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of our needs as we obey and trust Him. We must believe that He wants to provide for us. We should develop an expectant mind-set in this area.

The people Paul wrote to in Philippians were partners in his ministry and they helped him financially. They were obeying the law of sowing and reaping (see Galatians 6:7). We cannot expect to reap where we have not sown, but when we do sow good seeds, we should indeed expect good results. This is true in every area of our lives, including health, finances, abilities, relationships, and everything else that pertains to our well-being.

If we sow good seeds by respecting our physical bodies, feeding it nutritious food and drinking ample water, giving it plenty of sleep, and eliminating excessive stress, we can expect to reap a harvest of good health. If we sow mercy, we will reap mercy; if we sow judgment, we will reap judgment. If we forgive, we will be forgiven. If we are friendly, we will have friends. If we are generous, we will experience generosity returned. The law of sowing and reaping is one of the most simple to understand and one that produces great power in our lives. Just think about it… if you need friends all you have to do is be friendly!

What Is Prosperity?

John D. Rockefeller, Jr., once said, “I know of nothing more despicable and pathetic than a man who devotes all the hours of the waking day to the making of money for money’s sake.”

The truth is a person is never truly prosperous if all he has is a lot of money; real prosperity requires far more than that. The apostle John writes, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers” (3 John 2). Obviously, John had a holistic approach to prosperity, and so should we. He didn’t even mention money, but focused on the body and the soul. When our bodies prosper, we are strong and physically healthy. Even if we currently have a physical ailment we can pray for and expect healing, but we need to sow good seed by taking care of ourselves and not abusing our bodies.

When our souls prosper, we flourish on the inside. We are at peace; we are full of joy; we are content; we live with a sense of destiny and purpose; we are growing spiritually; and we have strong, loving relationships with others.

God is a god of abundance and He wants us to live abundant lives. Jesus said that He came so we could have and enjoy life in abundance and to the full (see John 10:10).

Is It Wrong to Want Money?

We need money! We need it for housing, clothes, education, food, automobiles, entertainment, and many other things. Actually, if I think about it, most of the places I go, money is exchanged for some goods or services. It is not wrong to want money. it is not evil; it is the love of money that is a root of all evil (see 1 Timothy 6:10). Not only does money meet our needs, but it can be used to bless others, especially those who have needs and no way to meet those needs. People contribute money to our ministry and it enables us to preach the gospel in thirty-eight languages in approximately two-thirds of the world. It also enables us to feed the hungry, provide safe drinking water, fund orphanages, visit prisons, and hundreds of other things that help people.

It is not God’s will for wicked people to have all the money in the world while His people are constantly needy. We should be good stewards of what God gives us, and good investors. I believe we should respect money and never waste it. Proverbs says over and over that we should be prudent and that means being good managers.

There is a well-known Bible story about three men who were given talents (money) according to their ability to handle them. The man who received the most was given about five thousand dollars. He invested it and returned to his master the original five and five more besides. His master complimented him, telling him that he did a good job and would be put in charge of much (see Matthew 25:14–28). As I read this story it is obvious to me that God expects us to be wise investors and if we are He rewards us. We should never love money or be greedy for gain, but we should do the best we can with what we have. Use money in the service of God and man and never try to use God or man to get money! Money is only a small portion of prosperity, but we do need it and it is not wrong to ask God to supply it abundantly.

Think about It

Do you have a healthy, well-balanced attitude toward prosperity?

No More Needy Mind-sets

Many people fail to enjoy the abundance God has for them because they have an “I’m needy” mind-set. They are constantly afraid they won’t have enough of whatever resources they need. They don’t believe they are strong enough to do what they need to do; they don’t believe they will have enough money to meet their financial obligations; they don’t believe anyone will care for them in their old age. They are afraid they will lose their jobs and not be able to find another. In fact, most of their thinking may be dominated by fear. They feel they need more friends; they need more love, and they need more energy. People with this “I need, I need, I need” mentality feel deprived spiritually, mentally, physically, financially, and socially. Sometimes people who are plagued by feelings of neediness have truly been needy at some point in their lives. These experiences cause them to be fearful of lack or loss, and that fear causes them to think they will never have enough, so they may even begin to live narrow, stingy lives.

The Great Depression in the 1930s produced an entire generation of people who were terribly fearful of loss and lack. This tragic period in history made an almost irreversible impression on some people, who spent the rest of their lives doing things like saving little pieces of aluminum foil because they remembered times of frightening scarcity, times when what they used could not be replenished. When days of prosperity returned, many people failed to renew the mind-sets they formed during the Depression. Anytime we go through a season of lack, it is easy to become fearful, but it is during those times that we can trust God to meet our needs. If you are in a season of economic downturn right now, I strongly encourage you to realize that it will eventually pass and you will enter a new season. Keep trusting God to help you and boldly expect to prosper in all areas of life. If you need employment, then expect God to favor you when you look for a job.

Some people feel needy because of the conditions or attitudes of the families in which they grew up; others feel needy because of personal experiences in which they suffered loss. All of these circumstances and others cause people to be afraid they will not have enough—and this is not what God wants. He doesn’t want us to live in fear of losing what we have or being without what we need. In fact, I think acting as if God will not meet our needs or doesn’t want us to have our needs met is rather insulting to Him. We should compliment Him by believing He is good and by expecting Him to meet our needs according to the promises in His Word.

Fearing we will not have what we need is exactly what Satan wants. We can open the door to his will through fear just as we can open the door to God’s will through faith.

Throughout my teenage and young adult years, I had to take care of myself. I could not ask my parents for any more than I absolutely had to because of the sexual abuse I was experiencing. If I asked my father for anything, there was always “payback” of some kind demanded, so to avoid that situation I either provided for myself or I did without. This period of time in my life left me with a fear of not having enough, so when I did have anything, I was afraid to use it for fear it would not be there in case of a real emergency. You might say that I lived in great fear. I was afraid I would never have what I needed and even when I did have it, I was afraid to use or enjoy it. Coming to the realization that God delighted in providing for me and that He wanted me to enjoy what He gave me was quite amazing to me and I must admit that it took me a while to be able to develop a new mind-set in this area.

Remember, the mind is the battlefield and Satan loves to put wrong thoughts into our minds, thoughts that are not in agreement with God’s Word, hoping we will meditate on them long enough for them to become reality in our lives. Cast down those wrong thoughts and bring every thought captive into the obedience of Jesus Christ (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). Instead, think of yourself as a child of God, a person God loves and is glad to provide for. Sow good seed by helping others in need, and say things that build within you the image of a person whose needs are met instead of the image of someone who is always needy. Here is a list of things you might consider thinking and saying to yourself:

• All of my needs are met according to God’s riches in Christ Jesus (see Philippians 4:19).

• God blesses me and makes me a blessing to others (see Genesis 12:2).

• I give and it is given unto me, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over (see Luke 6:38).

• God richly and ceaselessly provides everything for my enjoyment (see 1 Timothy 6:17).

• I serve God and He takes pleasure in my prosperity (see Psalm 35:27).

We receive from God according to our faith so it is vital for us to develop a correct mind-set in the area of God’s provision for us. Don’t settle for lack in your life, but instead expect abundance according to God’s Word.

Think about It

Has being needy at some time in your life developed a fear in you that you will never have enough?

Great Expectations

I like the old German proverb that says, “Begin to weave and God will provide the thread.” Making sure we are confident in God, eliminating any “needy” mentalities we might have, developing an abundant mind-set, and aggressively expecting God to be faithful to His nature and to meet our needs opens the door for Him to work in our lives. The Bible teaches us that God is waiting to bless people, but He is looking for someone who is expecting His favor (see Isaiah 30:18).

Sometimes we expect nothing; we merely wait to see what happens. At other times, we may fall into the trap of expecting to be disappointed because we have been disappointed time and time again in the past and we are afraid to hope for anything good. Because of the traumas I experienced early in life, I became extremely negative as an adult in my outlook on life. I was always waiting for the next disaster, and I expected it to be right around the corner. I am so glad God has taught me to aggressively expect good things to happen in my life. My life is not without challenges, but I enjoy a lot more good things than bad ones. When I expected trouble, I often got it, but now that I expect good, I often get that. Sometimes I even get better than what I have hoped for or expected because that’s the way God is. He gives us exceedingly, abundantly, above and beyond all that we dare to hope, ask, or think (see Ephesians 3:20).

Let me share with you a story I hope will encourage you to believe God can do more for you than you think. Prior to the Civil War, a man named Edmund McIlhenny ran a salt and sugar business on Avery Island, Louisiana. A Union invasion in 1863 forced him to leave his home and business, and when he returned in 1865, he found his sugar fields and saltworks completely devastated. He had almost nothing left—except some hot peppers that still grew in his garden. McIlhenny began to experiment with the peppers, to see if he could make a sauce to add taste to the bland foods he had left to eat. His sauce is now known as Tabasco
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and in 2008, the sauce, still produced by the McIlhenny family, celebrated its 140th anniversary.

McIlhenny lost everything in the war; his life could have been ruined. But it wasn’t. God took care of him, and God will take care of you too if you won’t give up.

Begin to meditate on and say, “God abundantly meets all of my needs. I expect Him to provide for me in every area of my life. He has a good plan for me and I am expecting a great future.” See yourself as someone who operates in wisdom and has the answers that are needed to make proper decisions in life. See yourself as a healthy person who is filled with energy and vitality. Believe that you are creative and have lots of good ideas. Expect to be invited to social gatherings and have many good friends, as well as a loving family. God wants you to expect good things from Him. He promises in Jeremiah 29:11 that He has thoughts and plans toward you that are good and not evil. Take Him at His Word, and have great expectations of Him.

Think about It

What are you expecting?

God Wants to Bless You

Some people have been taught that suffering and being needy are virtues in the Christian life. Being able to maintain a good attitude during times of suffering is a virtue and it is very important, but continual suffering is not God’s will for anybody. The apostle Paul stated that he had times of being abased and times of abounding. We will go through difficulties in this life but we can and should expect God’s deliverance and a return to an abundant life.

We must never see God as a stingy god who would withhold anything we need. Certainly, there are times when we don’t get what we want when we want it, but if that happens, God has a good reason. Perhaps the timing isn’t right, or we are not mature enough to handle it yet or He has something better in mind, something we don’t know how to ask for, but it is never because He doesn’t want us to be blessed. That thought simply isn’t consistent with who He is.