I think scarcity is a way of life that we, as Christians, think we should live – like it is some way of proving that we don’t desire earthly things. And while we shouldn’t put value in the earthly things more than the heavenly things, I also don’t think that we should live with a scarcity mindset.

You see, scarcity, by definition, means the lack of sufficiency and supply. And that, my friends, is contradictory to the Word of God.

There is no place in the Bible that I have found that says that we are to be insufficient in anything. Now, I’m not an expert, so feel free to consult an actual Bible scholar on this one. But in the verses that I have studied, Jesus teaches us that we are to seek first the Kingdom of God, and ALL of these things will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33), Paul tells us that our Father will supply ALL of our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), and Jesus teaches that the Father gives good gifts to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:12).

Now, obviously, those requests from us as believers should not be selfish and self-centered, but in the blessing of others through our own abundance, we, too, are blessed. And that is totally ok!

I have recently been seeking the Lord’s guidance on a very specific area of my life and business. I am still in God’s Waiting Room, if you will. (Don’t know what that is? Check out that blog.). But in prayerfully searching and asking for guidance and wisdom, I was given a very specific passage that I would like to share that I think speaks directly to our misconception of our often inhibiting scarcity mindset.

The passage is found in 2 Kings 4: 1-7. It’s the story of the widow’s oil. You see, she was facing a dire situation. She had lost her husband in battle, and now the creditors were coming to take her two sons as slaves for the debts that were owed because she couldn’t pay the amount due.

Desperate, she went to Elisha for help. And what happened reveals the power of God. Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house to which she replied only a little oil. Did you catch that? Just a LITTLE oil.

Elisha instructed her to go around and ask all of her neighbors for empty jars. An odd piece of instruction indeed, but take note of what he says about the jars.

Elisha told her, “Don’t ask for just a few.” And did you catch that? Don’t ask for just a few. In other words, ask for A LOT!!

Once she had the jars, she was instructed to go into her home, close the door behind her, and pour all of the oil into all of the borrowed jars, and as each one was filled, to put it to one side. She did this obediently. She poured into one jar after another… after another… after another… until all of the jars were full. When she asked her sons for the next jar, they replied that there were no more jars, AND THE OIL STOPPED FLOWING.

Elisha then told her to go sell the oil, pay the debts, and then live off of the rest. Not only was she provided the amount needed to pay off the debts, she was going to have money left over for her living needs!

The oil filled the jars until there were no more jars. Wonder if she had only collected a few not wanting to seem needy, or desperate, or even greedy? Then she wouldn’t have received the abundance of oil because she would have limited her blessing because she limited her jars.

And that made me think of my requests and what I have been praying for and asking of Jesus. Was I limiting my blessings because I was limiting my jars? God spoke to me and told me, “Don’t ask for just a few.” Don’t ask for just a few new clients, don’t ask for just a few new opportunities, don’t ask for just a few dreams. He is ok with me asking for a lot. Because in the asking, I’m also seeking. And He knows how to give me good gifts according to His will that He has placed on my life. So I’m not going to limit myself by only collecting a few jars.

What about you? Are you limiting your jars? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to do that anymore. Earnestly seek Him. Earnestly ask Him. And while you are doing so, don’t be trapped in a scarcity mindset. Remember the widow and “Don’t ask for just a few!”