Trust in the Lord with all your heart; don’t rely on your own intelligence. Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight. Don’t consider yourself wise. — Proverbs 3:5-7a
I have an annoying habit, and wonder if you share it with me.
When faced with a major project or event, my mind slips into asking, “So what’s the worst that could happen?” This is known as catastrophizing. The logic is that if you plan for the worst and it doesn’t happen, you’re ahead of the game.
The problem is that once you paint the catastrophe, you can’t unsee the picture. Even worse, the more you focus on it, the worse it looks. After a while, you become convinced that not just would the worst possibly happen but will indeed happen. Try to go to sleep, or stay asleep, if you’re transfixed by what you’ve imagined.
Psychologists say that when this happens, you get distance from it by saying, “This is just what my mind is thinking. It’s just a mental activity. Reality is much bigger, and there are a lot of possible outcomes.”
And the writer of Proverbs could add: “Your own intelligence is useful but limited. God is much smarter, so trust more. While you’re at it, love the Lord with your whole heart and your neighbor as yourself. Don’t consider yourself wise; consider yourself as a child of God, and you won’t get hung up so much when your mind starts obsessing on gloomy, imaginary pictures. God is in control. Have faith to enjoy the ride you’re given.”
Difficult to do. But if Jesus so trusted God that he could sleep in a boat on a stormy sea (Matthew 8:24), I guess we should do a little of that trusting as well.