The Best Remedy I’ve Found For My Tendency To Catastrophize

I’m normally one with a contingency plan–dually a positive thinker and a worst-case scenario overthinker. I see how good can be squeezed from wracking pain, how God’s kindness gleams bright through difficulty, how harsh conditions create fruit in us. And yet I tend to expect the worst will come true. Maybe you get it.

You’re hopeful about the end of the story but you expect between here and there to be rocky.

As if God’s gifts are always the good-hard kind. The wrapped-in-unlikely-packages kind. The nevertheless-gratitude kind.

Perhaps, like me, you need a reminder that faith lends joyful strength no matter what’s ahead. God’s good heart is to bring brimming-over wholeness. And yes, He can use the hard to chisel through our hardened hearts and closed off spaces. But He’s kind and patient and tender.

Also? He gives rich gifts. Lavish blessing. Underserved grace. A million re-do’s.

Because He’s before and behind us,

Within and surrounding us,

Holding us and healing us,

And helping us through every hard thing–

There is always, always hope on the horizon.

For the One Quick To Catastrophize

The best remedy I’ve found for my tendency to catastrophize is to tell God thanks for Who He always is, where He’s at work, and why I can trust Him.

I call it nevertheless gratitude–the kind that comes before God answers, intervenes, redeems. It’s a commitment to look for gift and grace where I can easily find worry, disappointment, conflict, or instability.

And although I line gratitude journals with the constancy of God’s nature, some days I need a reminder to “praise the Eternal now for what He will soon do” (Jeremiah 20:13, The Voice). So for both of us, here are five ways we can thank God in advance for the befores and coming-throughs and still-unfolding.

5 Ways to Praise God for What’s on the Hopeful Horizon

1–List God’s Names

We’ve been talking about this one a lot, so my encouragement to you today is to begin your own treasure hunt. Name who God is as you read, regardless of which Bible reading plan you’re using, no matter how much or little of Scripture you’re consuming in this season.

A few ideas to add more variety is to compare translations or read one you’re less familiar with. You could color code the names or type them into a Google doc or a note on your phone rather than inside your Bible. You could also share the fresh names you’ve discovered around the dinner table, in casual conversation with a neighbor, or in an encouragement card to a friend.

2–Borrow a Song

Choose a worship song that testifies of God’s unfailing promises and make it your anthem. Play it on repeat until it’s engrained deep in your heart. Write out the lyrics in your journal, on a post-it note, or in the margins of your Bible. Quote the lyrics you need to remember in your gratitude list.

There’s no shame in borrowing words you need to believe. Truth you can cling to. Promises for what’s still coming. And song is perhaps the most effortless way to memorize.

3–Thank God Directly

There’s a subtle shift in our hearts when we speak our thanks to God as if we’re talking with Him face to face rather than about Him. To give it a try, you might begin your thanks list with “God, You are already _____” or “God, You are always ______.”

There’s a subtle shift in our hearts when we speak our thanks to God as if we’re talking with Him face to face rather than about Him. (Twyla Franz)

Fill in the blanks with names of God, promises from His Word, or what you’ve learned through experience. Here’s a peek inside my gratitude journal to give you more ideas:

You “hide me in Your favor” (Ps. 4:1)

You fill me with “great delight and unrivaled joy” (Ps. 4:7).

Your unshakeable desire for us.

Kindness in Your questions.

You unroot and love me through.

You never change Your mind (Ps. 110:4).

You are Hope, Help, Holy Sanctuary (Ps. 19-20).

You pursue wayward hearts.

You are Re-Life and Re-Blessing.

You already have it all sorted out.

You are always right here (Zephaniah 3:17).

4–Name Where God’s At Work

I better remember that God’s always at work when I slow enough to notice.If you have trouble identifying where’s God’s doing something good beneath the surface–preparing a heart, coordinating His impeccable timing, shielding you from something, growing your trust, strengthening your faith, purifying your motives–simply ask Him. Then take a moment to quiet your heart and listen. Write down what you hear.

5–Thank Him Again for Blessings Behind You

Yet another way to slow your quick-to-catastrophize mind is to thank God for ways He’s shown Himself faithful in the past. Make a list of how He’s held you through stormy seasons. When did He bring peace when it made no logical sense for your heart to be at rest? When did He fill you with wisdom you couldn’t have known on your own or worked out details you could never have aligned?

Look back on this list when you need courage for what’s ahead. It’s a way to remember that what God’s done before, He can do again. Who God was then is Who is is right now.

If you have time, write a second list. Label it “Why I Can Trust God” and add to it as more reasons come to mind.

May I leave you with a prayer?

God, none of our negative thinking derails you. You’re tender with our worries and patient with our what-ifs. We want to thank you today. For never changing. For being forever worthy and trustworthy. Nudge our thoughts back to the hope we have in You when they stray.

* I’m taking Mary Demuth’s 90-Day Bible Reading Challenge, searching for names of God as I read like it’s some sort of treasure hunt. Never though to look for God in this way until I began journaling through Ann Voskamp’s Sacred Prayer.

Just a friend over here in your corner,