Pray, Bless, Break, And Share
Moving Your Spirit From Scarcity To Abundance
by Eric Elkin
“[Jesus] took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples.”
“The world is collapsing around our ears. I turned up the radio, but I can’t hear it.” Michael Stipe sang these words on the R.E.M. hit, “Radio Song.” I think the song captures something I am feeling. Maybe you are feeling it too. The radio was something we turned to when we wanted to escape the latest world crisis. But now even that is just playing the same old song.
When the world is collapsing, where do you turn for escape? It seems like all avenues of diversion are evaporating. Facebook and social media are minefields. You have to navigate trip wires to enjoy images of people sharing their blessings. Sports are returning, but we cannot view them apart from the lens of chaos determining the playing field.
Sports journalist, Dan Patrick, has started calling our current situation “the new crazy.” In his eyes, we are not searching for the new normal, but living in new expressions of crazy. He is right. Each day seems like a new definition of insane. The context is getting so tense one cannot even turn to humor to lighten the mood.
What we are experiencing now is what happens when the mind becomes committed to a framework of scarcity. All the eye can see is poverty. When a congregation does not worship in the sanctuary, it is the death of faith. A canceled graduation ceremony becomes an emotional wound too deep to heal. Riots that cannot be contained by force are unsolvable problems.
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
Poverty is a spiritually destructive force. Financial resources have little to do with this kind of need. Students who travel to Third World countries are often surprised to find these poor communities have the most generous spirit. Likewise, wealthy neighborhoods in the First World can be cold, rigid, and unwelcoming.
Faith heals a poverty of spirit. Trusting in a God of abundance keeps one grounded in gratitude. Gratitude transforms the heart and, thus, the mind to see what is instead of what is not. If you want to experience this miracle of transformation, follow the guide set by Jesus in feeding the five thousand.
Pray. Take all of your concerns this day and speak them to God. If it is health weighing heavy on you, pray for healing. If the world's condition is robbing you of joy, tell it to God in prayer using whatever words or methods most comfortable to you.
When the praying is done, bless what you have in your possession. For Jesus, it was a few scraps of fish and bread. Bless, give thanks for whatever you have in your possession this day, no matter how great or small it may seem. Facebook was full of angst this morning, so I went out on the porch and gave thanks for the birds, the sun, and the joy of nature.
Then break whatever blessing you have in your possession. Take a portion of your joy and divide it so you may share it with someone without joy. A poverty of spirit is afraid of breaking what little it possesses. A spirit of trust understands what little we have will come back even more. When you are done with this four-step process, tell me how it feels. And how it is with your soul.
Click to read Matthew 14: 13-21
Reflection Questions:
How would you describe your soul today? Is it overflowing with goodness, or in need?
What blessings do you possess at this time?
How can you share whatever it is that you possess ?
What practice can help you open your eyes to all that you have to share?
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