How to discern the poverty spirit

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The other day, someone asked if we could do a Financial Sozo. We met and worked through his issues, and discovered a lie that was fueling a sneaky poverty behavior: over-generosity.
Huh? That’s weird. How is over-generosity a sign of poverty?
The spirit of poverty can be tricky. It doesn’t come out and say, “I’m a poverty mindset!” It can manifest in seemingly unrelated ways.
In my client’s case, he discovered he was giving away too much money because deep down he didn’t believe he was worth investing in. He lavishly gave away funds, but this dipped into his living needs and harmed his peace.
This is how people can go into debt through generosity. On the surface, giving away money seems honorable, but if you neglect your own necessities to the point of accumulating debt, that’s a sign of the poverty spirit.

Partnership with Holy Spirit

One way we can resolve over-generosity is by turning to our relationship with Holy Spirit. He’s the One Who can search our hearts and remove a lie’s influence.

magnifying glass

Use these steps to partner with Him and identify the source of an ungodly behavior:

  1. Ask the Holy Spirit what’s really going on. Say, “Holy Spirit, is there a lie I’m believing?”

     

  2. If He identifies a lie, renounce partnership with it. Say, “I see you, poverty, and I send you back in Jesus’ Name. I renounce the lie that I’m not worth investing in, and I receive Your truth. Jesus, what truth do You want me to know?”

     

  3. Once Jesus reveals His truth, discern how you can activate it in your life. In my client’s case, he heard God say, “Your life is valuable. The more strength you receive, the more you can pour into others.” This spoke deeply to his heart, and inspired him to retool his giving, so he could save more money. 

The goal of this process is not just to remove a poverty mindset, but also the lens of orphanhood. The orphan spirit says you are not enough, you are not worthy, and victory is not even worth fighting for because you’ll always be stuck in the same cycle.

That’s a pretty disempowering outlook.

But imagine viewing life through Christ’s spirit of adoption, which says you are loved, protected, and accepted by God. This outlook honors your financial necessities, and gives you permission to steward your wealth, because caring for others also means caring for yourself.