Abundance and How to Stop Worrying

Picture this: You and your friends are playing ball at a sports field one Saturday afternoon. Everyone is running around, laughing, and having fun playing against one another. Soon you are all quite thirsty and decide to take a drink break at the tables set up with refreshments. Is anyone anxious about running out of water to drink? Certainly not, it could not be further from your minds. Water is there in abundance.

Now imagine a different scene.

You and a friend started on a hiking trail earlier that morning but unexpectedly all the riverbeds are dry and it’s scorching hot. You both realize the single small bottle of water packed as an afterthought is the only drink you will have access to for the next few hours. Suddenly this resource that was previously taken for granted is a scarcity. We start to worry. What if there is not enough for both of us?

Abundance displaces scarcity.

It is well known that our attitude toward scarcity and abundance is a significant influence on our success in all fields of our lives. We are going to take a closer look at what this means, and we are going to start with two examples of an abundance mindset in the Bible. There is a clear link between understanding abundance and how to stop worrying.

Many are familiar with the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand as found in Matthew 14:13-21. The context of this story is that a crowd of about five thousand men (excluding women and children) had gathered to hear Jesus teach and to ask him to heal their sick.

Picking up the story from Matthew 14:15 (NIV), “As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.’”

Jesus then suggests to the disciples that they feed the gathered crowd, to which his disciples reply in Matthew 14:17 (NIV), “‘We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.’” Jesus then asks for the food to be brought to him, he asks everyone to take a seat, gave thanks for the food, and passed it around. The disciples were amazed that they filled twelve baskets with leftover food after everyone had eaten.

Another illustration of abundance from the Bible is seen in 1 Kings 17:7-16 in the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. The context is that the area Elijah was in was suffering from severe drought. The widow was on the verge of running out of food and has already run out of hope.

When asked for water, and some bread the widow replies that she does not have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug and that she is in the process of gathering a few sticks to prepare this final morsel of food before she and her son die of starvation.

1 Kings 17:13-14 (NIV) reads, “Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

The widow then chose to act generously, and her actions reflect an abundance mindset as she listens to a prophet of God and obeys him fuelled by hope. She did as Elijah asked of her. And God ensured that neither the flour nor oil ran out during that time.

The term “abundant” is commonly understood to mean “exceedingly, very highly, beyond measure, more, a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate”. 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV) reads “However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” – the things God has prepared for those who love him”.

Everybody in the crowd that evening likely felt hungry by the end of the day. Elijah, the woman, and her family felt the same. In both accounts, everyone was fed and satisfied in an abundant, miraculous manner.

However, choosing an attitude of abundance over worry does not mean a carefree life full of wealth, health, and happiness – just look at the lives and living conditions of most Christians around the world. An abundance mindset is not the prosperity gospel by another name. It is an attitude that is aligned with John 8:36 (NIV), “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

Here Jesus was not giving us blanket permission to experience our own version of freedom by pursuing whatever our hearts desired. Rather, by freeing us he gives us the ability to live in obedience to Him. We are liberated to walk in a relationship with God. We can be the kind of people that He created us to be. This freedom in Christ allows Christians to obey God and choose His will for our lives.

In the bestselling book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People author Stephen Covey describes most people has having internal scripts that they repeat to themselves throughout the day that reinforce a scarcity mindset. Covey describes someone with a scarcity mindset as life containing a set amount – as though there is only one single pie in the world.

This reflects a zero-sum view that declares there are only winners and losers. As such someone with a scarcity worldview has a difficult time-sharing recognition and credit, power, or profit. Even with those who help enable them. They also struggle to be sincerely happy for the success of other people.

An abundance mindset is the opposite. It flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It reflects a clear understanding that there is more than enough opportunity out there, and plenty for everybody. Through knowledge and assurance of this, people with an abundant mindset learn how to stop worrying.

The script playing within the minds of those who live with an abundance mindset encourages experimentation, generosity, honesty and transparency, creativity, and clear communication.

An abundance mindset teaches you how to stop worrying.

We are all people of influence. In our roles as family members, colleagues, and members of society, we can develop and model an abundance mindset. And by doing this we can positively influence our network.

Even if you struggle to ignore the scarcity script in your mind, look to develop these habits as you teach yourself a better way in line with the teaching of Psalm 118:24 (ESV): “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

Express appreciation: Look around and see the contribution of other people. And then do not stop at mentally noting it but say how much you enjoy their contribution. We all want our work to matter and, like knowledge which increases as it is shared, so does encouragement and its compound effects.

See the opportunity: When next you are faced with an obstacle in your relationships, at home, or work, zoom out and see the opportunity that the challenge hides when close up. Instead of focusing on the challenge, focus on the opportunity and by so doing you will encourage others to imitate your optimistic behavior.

Remember abundance: There is more than enough. Remind yourself of the God of creation in Genesis 1. We serve an abundant God, who did not hold back when He created each of us with all the unique gifts, talents, and abilities we have.

Understand influence: We are all influenced by the company we keep, so choose to be influenced by those whose cup is not only half full, but like in Psalm 23, it overflows.

Harness gratitude: It is common knowledge that gratitude displaces anxiety. Each morning, before you start your day, list three things that you are grateful for. Developing a habit of noticing, understanding, and expressing gratitude helps us find to find peace.

Practice generosity: We are always stewards of our resources, talents, abilities, and the time and money we spend. Do you want to spend your irreplaceable time focusing only on yourself, or looking up and out at the world around you, and being the change that you want to see in the world?

As you come to enjoy adopting an abundant attitude you will see that it actively displaces the feelings and emotions caused by worrying. While the reality of life may still face you, the paralysis of overriding anxiety and concern will be gone and you will be able to turn the challenges of life around so that instead they become opportunities. That said, learning how to stop worrying does take practice.

Christian counseling to learn how to stop worrying

If you’re looking for additional help to learn how to stop worrying and the problems it creates beyond this article, or perhaps even if someone you love is unable or unwilling to recognize their worries and anxieties, then why not browse our online counselor directory or contact our office to find out how we can help you. We would be honored to walk with you on this journey.