I’m an overthinker. If overthinking were a sport, I’m pretty sure I would have a few gold medals. Seriously. My mental gymnastics game is Olympic level.
Give me a task, and I will analyze all the possible scenarios and their potential outcomes before I even consider starting the task. I tend to tie myself in knots thinking through things, even staying up late at night to spend even more time thinking about the task at hand, how I will execute it and all the problems I might encounter. It can be exhausting. I may even spend some time coming up with excuses as to why I shouldn’t do it at all or who I might be able to pass it off to. I will most likely procrastinate, and maybe even just try to get out of the whole thing.
When I read the story of Jonah, I see myself in him. He was given a task, he didn’t want to do, so he made up excuses and ran from what God wanted him to do. His reasons may be different than mine, but ultimately, I think Jonah was overthinking his situation.
God told him to go to Nineveh and deliver God’s message to the people there. Jonah immediately started overthinking the situation by inserting his own feelings and opinions into it, rather than just doing what God told him to do. He ended up in a difficult and scary situation, but God in His endless mercy, gave Jonah a second chance. That is where we pick up in Jonah Chapter 3.
God tells Jonah a second time to go to Nineveh and deliver His message to the people. This time Jonah obeyed and went straight to Nineveh. He delivered the message, and the people believed it. The king humbled himself and ordered everyone in the city to turn from their evil ways, stop all their violence and pray earnestly to God, in hopes that God would change His mind and hold back His anger from them.
“When God saw what they had done and how they put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.” Jonah 3:10
Ultimately, God decided not to destroy the city of Nineveh because of their belief in Him and the radical transformation that occurred in the people after they received His message.
This is the part that gets me. The message Jonah delivered to the people of Nineveh;
“Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” Jonah 3:4b
That’s it. The whole message in its entirety.
One sentence. Eight words. And God used it to transform an entire city for His glory.
Often when God asks me to do something, I overthink it, thinking it has to be some big, complicated thing. When all God wants is for me to obedient and trust Him to do the rest. The truth is that most times, what God wants me to do isn’t complicated at all. Much like with Jonah, it’s usually something simple and small that God wants to use to make a big impact. When I choose to obey and trust God instead of overthinking it, God can do some beautiful and amazing things.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
This has been one of my favorite verses since I was a child. I often go back to it when I need a reminder of who is in control and that all I need to do is trust in Him instead of my own understanding. When I overthink something that God has told me to do, I am depending on my own understanding. If I can trust Him and seek His will instead if trying to understand everything, He will guide me and He will be able to use me to do far greater things than I can accomplish on my own.
I wonder if there is something God has asked you to do that you are running from or overthinking. If so, I pray that you would be able to EXCHANGE your overthinking for obedience and trust God’s will for your life. This is my prayer for myself as well. That we would be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading, and obedient to what God asks us to do, trusting that He is the one in control and that He is able to take our small, imperfect acts of obedience and use them to further His kingdom.
Let’s believe this. And live it out together.
