"7 Signs of a Spirit of Poverty"
I've been very burdened lately for God's people, specifically in the area of finances. I see so many precious people being tricked by a spirit of poverty – a demonic force that wants to rob God's sons and daughters of blessing and provision. And beloveds, it's time to kick the spirit of poverty to the curb.
Being poor is NEVER from the Lord. God's Word tells us that God is our good, good Father who will bless us abundantly if we obey Him. That's why we must learn how to identify a poverty spirit: so we can get rid of it if we've embraced it.
If you don't know that you've let the enemy deceive you in this area, you won't know that you need to get free...and you won't see the change you desire to see in your life.
So let's look at 7 signs of a spirit of poverty. Before we start, know this: if you see any of these in yourself, don't get under condemnation about it. Just repent for any sin in your life in this area. Speak out loud that you renounce agreement with the spirit of poverty. Speak out loud that you receive and embrace God's abundance and prosperity instead. Command that spirit of poverty to leave you in Jesus' name, ask the Holy Spirit to fill you where that was, and to teach you the truth of His Word about His desire to bless and provide for you. OK? Here are the seven signs...
Sign #1 of a Spirit of Poverty: Chronic, Long-Term Lack and Expectation Thereof
"God tends to bless people who obey Him; who do good works; who give generously; and who make wise decisions."
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Lots of people have been through slim times financially for brief periods. However, if you're stuck in a chronic, long-term pattern of lack, odds are good that a spirit of poverty (or even of limitation) may be oppressing you.
The very first step to the process of getting out of chronic lack is building your faith for more. (Additional steps in this process are outlined below.) If you have been in lack a long time, it tends to get you down. If that's you, stretch your faith and dig deeply into prayer over God's promises to bless you. As you transform your mindset through God's Word, the enemy won't be able to tempt you or rob you of your faith for reward and provision.
Sign #2 of a Spirit of Poverty: Thinking You Have to Give Your Work Away
Before I entered full-time ministry, I spent nearly 15 years in the corporate world in a Fortune 500 company. While there, I learned that work has value. Nobody goes to work from 8 AM to 5 PM every day because they want to work for free. We want to be paid, and we want to be paid more.
Yet, as Christians, we often think that we should give our work away. The result of this deception is that you give your work away, and are therefore not earning the income with which God is trying so hard to bless you. You're working so hard blessing people, ministering to people, and providing for others for free. If you feel that you are not allowed to charge for your work, then you are saying that the anointing and skills the Holy Spirit has placed on your life are worth nothing. That is an insult to the Holy Spirit.
So whether you're a work-at-home mom, a CEO, an artist, a preacher, or anything else, your work has value. Don't feel that you have to give your work away.
Sign #3 of a Spirit of Poverty: Refusing to Pay Others for Their Labor
1 Timothy 5:18 says: "For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain,' and, 'The laborer is worthy of his wages.'"
A person who works deserves to be compensated for it. Therefore, if you have someone work for you, be prepared to pay them. Honor God's Word enough to pay people. They might not expect to be paid, but that doesn't negate the truth of God's Word. When we have somebody work for us, they are worthy of their hire.
If you won't honor and pay others for their work, God can't bless you the way He wants to either. However, if you DO honor others and give them their due, God can do the same for you. In a nutshell, the enemy doesn't want you to pay others because he doesn't want YOU to be paid. Fight back and pay people their due.(Photo via Pixabay)
Sign #4 of a Spirit of Poverty: Not Tithing or Offering to the Lord
Everything in Heaven and earth belongs to God. We need to specifically recognize this in the area of finance: all the money belongs to God. And He asks us for a minimum of 10% in the Old Testament (Malachi 3:8-12). For those of you who prefer the New Testament standard to the Old Testament one, the New Testament standard is selling everything:
"Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need."(Acts 2:44-45)
When we refuse to tithe and offer to the Lord, we are yielding to the lies of the enemy which state that the money actually belongs to us. But, the money doesn't belong to us, and we have no right to steal it. We are merely stewards. And when we steward God's money well, He can and will bless us. However, the spirit of poverty tells you that we don't have to tithe and offer – all because it doesn't want us to be blessed or have the devourer (the devil) rebuked off our lives.
Not tithing and giving offerings is choosing to believe a trick from the devil. If you want to be blessed, punch that spirit of poverty to the curb. Tithe and give to the Lord, no matter what.
Sign #5 of a Poverty Spirit: Resenting the Wealthy
If you resent the wealthy, you have a poverty spirit. If, on the other hand, you're happy for the wealthy, God can bless you. God tends to bless people who obey Him, who do good works, who give generously, and who make wise decisions. People like that often develop some measure of wealth, whether over a few years or over a lifetime.
If you hold hatred or resentment toward wealthy people, that exposes an inner belief in your heart that says, "Wealth is bad. Wealth is offensive to me." And if you believe wealth is bad, you can't receive wealth from the Lord yourself.
Sign #6 of the Spirit of Poverty: A Habit of Making Poor Financial Decisions
"As you transform your mindset through God's Word, the enemy won't be able to tempt you or rob you of your faith for reward and provision."
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If you have a habit of making poor financial decisions, you could be under the influence of a poverty spirit. Spending more than you earn, wasting money, gambling, and going into debt are all signs of poverty thinking which needs to be transformed by the Word of God. All of these decisions will keep you poor.
The best way I've found to fix this? Educate yourself. Dave Ramsey has some great financial resource books. In order to get ahead financially, you have to educate yourself. The enemy doesn't want you to study and show yourself approved unto God. The enemy doesn't want you to understand how tithing and blessing are connected. The enemy doesn't want you to understand how sowing and reaping work in personal finance...all because the enemy wants you to be and stay poor. But if you will make a point to learn as much as you can about money, everything can change!
Sign #7 of a Spirit of Poverty: Criticizing Someone for Spending Money They Have
"That money was wasted on that nice ____. It should have been given to the Kingdom."
"I don't think that church should have built that (giant metal cross, new building, etc.) on their property. What a waste of money."
"Well, they just travel all the time. They probably spend all their money traveling."
Do any of these sound familiar? EVERY time, without fail, that I have ever heard someone making critical comments like this, the following two things have been true:
The person making the comment has been in poverty with a long and unfortunate history of not thriving. The party that made the purchase did so with money they had to spend, and they felt released by God to do it. This is a sign of the spirit of poverty because it is the sin of judgment. Criticizing someone for spending money they have is a judgment of their motives. It's not a judgment of their financial status; it's judging that their hearts weren't right when they made the purchase. Statements like the ones above actually say, "This person's priorities aren't right because they didn't do what I think they should do, and I'm making the decision that they weren't right with God."
We SHOULD absolutely discern good from evil, yes. But if someone isn't in sin, and is just using their money in a way that you disapprove of and you're in the habit of criticizing them, please stop! If you aren't sure whether or not you do this, ask a trusted friend. Ask a spouse. Ask someone who will tell you the truth. (Photo via Pixabay)
So what do you do if you see any of these signs of the poverty spirit in yourself? Here are several things I'd encourage you to do:
• Pray. Ask the Lord to show you any sin in your own heart. Repent of anything which He convicts you. Ask the Lord to show you any thought patterns you have that are too low or too base. Ask Him to show you any ways in which you have come into agreement with the poverty spirit.
• Ask Him to show you any hindrances in your heart that keep you from receiving Papa God's abundant blessing. Educate yourself about how money works in today's economy. Educate yourself from the pages of Scripture about how money works in God's Kingdom economy.
Then begin to aggressively follow God's plan for your finances:
• Seek Him in prayer.
• Pray about your finances and pray for wisdom.
• Follow God's instructions as written in His Word.
• Ask Him to help you build your faith for His abundance and total shalom – the Hebrew word meaning "nothing missing, nothing broken."
• Pray about your finances and pray for wisdom.
• Follow God's instructions as written in His Word.
• Ask Him to help you build your faith for His abundance and total shalom – the Hebrew word meaning "nothing missing, nothing broken."
If you will do this consistently over time, I believe you will see change in your finances as you align your thoughts about money with God's Word. (To Subscribe to the Elijah List subscribe here.)
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