Do you hide away when people praise you? Some of us have an inner critic that says “I’m not nearly as good as people think I am.” It can even go so far as to make us feel shame when we get a compliment or cause us to over-explain ourselves out of being as amazing as we truly are. Think about it; have you ever said, “Oh well it’s not me, it was God who did that…” or, “That shirt is one I got on sale…” or maybe even, “That project was a group effort…” all in an attempt to make yourself small? What is it that holds us back from being the amazing children of God that He sees us as? Could it be that perhaps it’s a spiritual autoimmune disease that sabotages our abundance and ability to thrive in life?
I talked about this in my book club recently and was blown away by people’s responses so I wanted to share it with you today. Let’s take a look at this video summary of Chapter 2 of Poverty, Riches and Wealth, “How To Cure A Wealth Autoimmune Disease”:
In a nutshell:
• Have you ever had someone introduce you to someone else with high praise? They go on and on about how amazing you are, and your response is to want to hide away? Sometimes there’s a feeling in us that says we have to sabotage a great introduction or apologize for something we own, an award we received or an accomplishment we reached.
• What is it that says “I’m not as good as you think I am”? It’s a poverty mindset. And the truth is that most of us grow up like this.
• 3 John 1:2 says, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.”
• From this verse, we can see that God wants us to pray for prosperity (John says “I pray that…”).
• The second thing we see is that if our souls stay in poverty then we will never move to prosperity.
• I’ve written about 8 ways to walk out of a poverty mindset here, and I encourage you to check that list out today.
• The first step is to discover what God says about you. Finding this out means you’ll have to stop and take some time to actually quiet your mind and listen. Make sure that you’re listening to the right voice, which will never sound like shame or putting you down.
• The second step is to envision yourself as God sees you. Again, take some time to think about how God sees you and what that practically looks like.
• When going through these steps you may find that not all 8 resonate with you, but I encourage you to embrace them as stepping stones out of a poverty mindset.
8 STEPS FOR WALKING OUT OF A POVERTY MINDSET
I want to quickly mention the 8 steps out of a poverty mindset, but be sure to check out the full explanation of each point on this blog.
1. Discover who God says you are.
2. Envision yourself as God sees you.
3. Recount your past sins and failures that still trouble you and ask Jesus to forgive you.
4. Ask Jesus to show you your sins or failures from His perspective.
5. Ask Jesus if there are actions you need to take to clean up your messes, or to bring closure to your life.
6. Develop a vetting system for what you allow yourself to listen to and think about.
7. Make a list of the 5 most profound things that Jesus says about you and memorize them.
8. Ask yourself how someone who has the 5 attributes Jesus said you have should think, talk, behave, and dream.
ACTIVATION FOR THE WEEK
So do you know who God says you are? Do you know what encouragement He’s speaking over you in this season? This week I want you to actively participate in step 7—make a list of the 5 most profound things that Jesus says about you and memorize them. This will require some quiet time and for you to wait patiently. 5 may sound like a big number but I know there is so much life and love that God wants to lavish on you.
If you’d be so bold as to share with me your 5 things in the comments, I’d love to hear from you! I’d also love to hear your thoughts on this topic and anything you’re processing through regarding walking in a wealth mentality!
________________________________________
Interested in reading more about leaving behind a poverty mindset? Check out Poverty, Riches and Wealth. I wrote it to help you say goodbye to a never-enough mentality and begin walking in abundance regardless of your circumstances.
