Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Have you ever wondered what you are going to do in a situation or how you are going to pay a bill? Once you come up with the solution, you feel good. However, that solution ends up being a temporary fix and you’re back in the same situation that you were in before.
During this whole time, we have forgotten the most important thing when it comes to our troubles and issues and that is…”Did we consider praying and asking God what to do about our situation?” And most of the time the answer is, “No” or “We went to Him, after the solution that we came up with fell through.”
Ladies, I’m guilty of this very thing. I was worried about paying my rent on time. At the time, I was going through a drought season with my finances. For the past couple of months, I was able to borrow from my savings to cover expenses, so I didn’t go into the red in my main bank account. However, this time, I saw that I had the money for rent, but I was going to have little money for food or gas and I had nothing in my savings account to transfer over. I didn’t know what to do.
The night before my account was going to be drafted, I was laying in my bed trying to fix the problem and God had to check me and my motives real quick because I was allowing fear and pride to run my life. I would say proudly that I trust God (in certain areas of my life) but when it came to my finances, I wanted full control.
What God taught me gracefully (checked me) in my overthinking was,
“Liz, you don’t trust me, I need you to trust me. Let me be YOUR GOD, in your life. Let me show you, take your hands off the wheel and let me steer. I got you.”
That’s when God reminded me of one of my staple verses. I keep handy for when I feel like I’m in lack and I’m overthinking situations that God has already handled. This verse I have had to live on, cherish, memorize, and recite so that I don’t go away from the promises of God.
Matthew 6:25-28 says, “This is why I tell you: do not be worried about the food and drink you need in order to stay alive, or about clothes for your body. After all, isn’t life worth more than food? And isn’t the body worth more than clothes? Look at the birds: they do not plant seeds, gather a harvest and put it in barns; yet your Father in heaven takes care of them! Aren’t you worth much more than birds? Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?
This verse helped me put into perspective that God really loves me and that he can take care of all things around me. Why wouldn’t he make sure his daughter is taken care of. God wanted me to understand the power of receiving gifts from those who love me, in Jesus’ name. I needed to humble myself by learning how to ask when I needed help and that I should go to HIM first for EVERYTHING! My OVERTHINKING was simply pride, TRYING to control the situation, and that I wasn’t truly trusting God.
I repented and asked for forgiveness because I understood I was sinning against God by not trusting him.
Ladies let’s not become prisoners in our thoughts. Let’s get out of our minds and let’s lift our prayers and petitions to Christ, because He can handle any burden or situation that you may think is impossible. We serve a Mighty God! Let’s fully put our trust in God and watch GOD BE God in our Lives!
Here are Practical Tips to Effectively Deal with Overthinking:
Pray & Worship.
Yes, practice being intentional and praying and worshiping asking God about your situation. Overthinking deals with pride and wanting us to control. Remember, God doesn’t mind us going to Him and giving Him all of our burdens, cares, and worries of this world as it states in 1 Peter 5:7, “Cast all of your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”. This act of praying and worship will help you alleviate the responsibility that you have to do it all on your own, because we have a Mighty God.
Write it Down.
First, you want to get it out of your head and onto paper. A mentor of mine called it a “brain dump.” No organization-it doesn’t have to look pretty. All you have to do is write all of your thoughts down and breathe.
Identify what YOU have control over.
There’s this chart that shows you what you can control and what you can’t control. Those things we should automatically give to God. It is a great reminder to place those issues at his feet and not allow those things to control our every thought where it gives us a headache.
Weigh the Cost of Overthinking.
Ask yourself is overthinking getting anything done, solving the problem, are you even considering what God is saying about the situation? Overthinking also causes stagnation, procrastination, and an unhealthy portion of pride. Because you think you have a better way of handling things, sends you to a cycle of overthinking.
Find Biblical Promises that Combat Your Worries.
What does God say about food, money, relationships, our personal conduct and character? Read up on what you’re really worried about and see what the Bible says about it. Doing this has helped me replace my words and thoughts of worry, with things of God. It has helped me reframe my focus on what’s Good, instead of what’s bad. It helps me give it all to God without holding on tightly to the issue at hand.
God Bless,
Elizabeth M. Burns
