Scarcity vs. Sufficiency: Our Mindset Matters

“You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.”

My face was flushed and I could feel my heartbeat in my cheeks. I was having a hard time catching my breath and had been struggling for a solid half mile. And, yet, at the switchback, the trail ahead of me was even steeper than what I’d already endured.

Now, in full disclosure, I really love Jesus…but sometimes I say words you don’t find in the Bible. And this was one of those times. I was getting angry at whoever created this trail and even more angry at the person on the hiking app who classified this one as “Moderate” in the difficulty rating. I was using my old woman hiking poles and at one point considered using my hands and knees instead.

My hiking buddy ahead was using similar non-Bible words under her breath and we both thought we might die. What was only a little over a mile hike to this north Georgia summit was one of the hardest hikes we’d done to date. About half way up, I made the mistake of checking the aforementioned hiking app only to realize we weren’t even close to the top.

And that is when I thought I was going to run out of oxygen.

You know that feeling? When you’re gasping for air, bent over with your hands on your knees, and you start to feel lightheaded (note to self….do not bend over that far in these situations). I could not believe that we’d not even covered a mile and I was already feeling like there was no way I could make it to the top. I was miserable – not because of the hike being strenuous, but rather because I felt so unprepared and ill-equipped to finish.

I’d arrived at the trailhead assuming there would be an ascent, but not thinking it would be 1.5 miles of what felt like straight up climbing. I was sure I was going to faint before we got to the top. Factor in the humidity of an early-July thunderstorm shaping up in the distance, and the weight of the air made my pack and body feel even heavier as we climbed.

We eventually made it to the top, but it was probably the slowest mile I’ve ever hiked. This was over two years ago and I was thinking about it recently as we climbed yet another summit.

This latest one was even taller and steeper in certain places. It required that we keep pushing through (and breathing) to make it to the top. It also was the final mile of an over seven-mile hike. As I told myself that I could do it, I flashed back to just how bad that first really steep hike had been. What a difference it made having the context of success in the past making it through seemingly impossible situations! I knew that it was going to be hard and that it might feel impossible, but if I just kept breathing and moving, I’d eventually make it.

On that more recent summit, I did complain a few times and I did use a few of those non-Bible words (what can I say…the woods brings it out). But, not for once did I think about turning back. I knew that, even if it didn’t feel like it, there actually was enough oxygen in the air and I did have the strength in my tired body to haul myself to the top. I was not going to sit down and never get back up and I was going to make it to the end.

As I thought back to that hard summit two years ago, I wondered how often in day to day life I live like I hiked that first steep summit. Days when I live exhausted, constantly acknowledging to myself (and sometimes others) how worn out I am, focusing on the hardness on my path, and feeling convinced throughout the days, weeks, and months that I do not have the strength, energy, wisdom, or patience to navigate the challenges before me.

For me, those times happen when I’m either caught off-guard by the hardness of a situation or when I’m worn out from difficulties that just won’t let up. And that is when I can be fooled – by myself, the world, or the Deceiver himself – that I do not have what it takes to successfully navigate the hard edges of this life.

Over recent years, I have lost count of the number of evenings, middles of the night, or early mornings when I have wept in exhaustion from trying to walk this path God has laid before me, but feeling so ill-equipped and depleted. This path is hard – single mothering, co-parenting, full-time working mom of two amazingly active children – but I know it is not the only hard path in life.

Whether it be ailing parents, challenging relationships, fighting for our own health, or the weight of watching the world around us seem to move further and further from God, walking the path God places us on in the midst of a fallen world can feel exhausting. And it is easy to convince ourselves that the climb is too hard, that we won’t make it, and that we’d better give up and turn back.

This fear of scarcity is an easy trap for the hard seasons of life. But, we are promised that He is enough for us and He will give us exactly the measure we need when we are working in His good.

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

2 Corinthians 9:8

Did you hear that? “All sufficiency in all things at all times…” That’s a lot of “all.” No need is left out when we are working in “every good work” the Lord has given us. There is enough air to sustain us, enough energy to persevere, and enough grace to navigate hard situations, difficult people, and less than ideal circumstances. Yes, his “good work” is found in those places, too.

We can make it. Flushed and a little sweaty on some days, but we can make it not just to limp to the top of whatever summit we’re climbing with Jesus today, but to abound greatly in that good work. He promises us that. Our job is to lose the scarcity mentality we all fall prey to when we focus only on our own abilities. When we rest in Him, we truly can thrive amidst the hard, the exhausting, the unfair, and the heartbreaking. And for that I’m thankful.