The Sin of Catastrophizing: Why Your Worst-Case Thinking Is a Lie from Hell

Written By Adam Dragoon

Sermon Summary

Catastrophic thinking is a trap that many of us fall into, often without realizing it. It’s the tendency to take a small problem or setback and blow it out of proportion, imagining the worst possible outcome and allowing fear and anxiety to take over.

This mindset can paralyze us, rob us of our faith, and lead us to make decisions based on fear rather than trust in God. The story from Isaiah 30 shows us how God’s people, when faced with trouble, turned to Egypt for help instead of seeking God’s counsel. They trusted in the shadow of Egypt—a symbol of their old bondage and fleshly solutions—rather than in the living God who had delivered them.

This pattern of catastrophizing is not new. The spies in Numbers 13 saw the giants in the land and declared themselves grasshoppers, forgetting God’s promise. Even the apostle Paul, in a moment of weakness, believed his ministry was a failure, though the reality was far different. Catastrophic thinking distorts our perception, making us believe that our problems are insurmountable and that God is absent or uninterested. It can manifest in our relationships, our parenting, our work, and even in our spiritual lives, leading us to overthink, replay past mistakes, and expect disaster at every turn.

At its root, catastrophizing is a lack of faith—a refusal to see our circumstances through God’s eyes. It is a form of rebellion, as Isaiah says, because it seeks counsel apart from God and multiplies sin upon sin. The cure is not to ignore our problems or pretend they don’t exist, but to choose faith over fear. We must renew our minds, as Romans 12:2 instructs, and learn to see our lives from God’s perspective. This means bringing our anxieties to Him in prayer, trusting that He is working all things together for good, and refusing to let fear dictate our actions or our words.

God calls us to take every thought captive, to focus on today rather than worry about tomorrow, and to remember that even in the darkest moments, He is with us. Our faith is our victory. When we trust in God’s character and His promises, we can face any challenge without succumbing to catastrophic thinking. Let us be people who seek God’s counsel, devise plans by His Spirit, and find our strength in Him alone.

“This mindset can paralyze us, rob us of our faith, and lead us to make decisions based on fear rather than trust in God.”
— Pastor Adam

Watch/Listen

Message Study Guide

Youtube chapters

  • [00:00] - Welcome

  • [01:39] - The Sin of Catastrophizing: A Modern Example

  • [03:28] - Isaiah 30: Trusting in the Shadow of Egypt

  • [05:10] - Defining Catastrophic Thinking

  • [06:45] - Biblical Examples: The Spies and Paul

  • [10:27] - Everyday Catastrophizing: Health, Relationships, and Parenting

  • [12:20] - Perfectionism, Pessimism, and Overthinking

  • [14:46] - The Spiritual Root: Doubt and Rebellion

  • [17:30] - Trusting in the Flesh vs. Trusting in God

  • [20:45] - The Shadow of Egypt: False Security

  • [23:14] - The Cure: Faith Over Fear

  • [25:50] - Gaining God’s Perspective

  • [28:30] - Practical Steps: Renewing the Mind

  • [31:00] - Five Scriptures for Victory

  • [33:45] - Focusing on Today, Trusting for Tomorrow

  • [36:00] - A Call to Faith and Prayer

Key Takeaways

  1. Catastrophic thinking is a distortion that magnifies problems and assumes the worst, often leading to anxiety, paralysis, and poor decisions. It is rooted in a lack of faith and a failure to see situations from God’s perspective, as seen in the example of the Israelites turning to Egypt and the spies in Numbers 13. Instead of trusting God’s promises, we can easily fall into the trap of believing our fears more than His Word. [03:28]

  2. Even spiritual giants like the apostle Paul struggled with catastrophic thinking, feeling abandoned and fruitless when, in reality, God was using him powerfully. Our own assessments of our lives are often clouded by emotion and limited perspective, but God sees the true impact and fruit of our faithfulness. We must learn to trust God’s evaluation over our own, especially in seasons of discouragement. [08:49]

  3. Catastrophic thinking is not just a personal struggle; it can affect our relationships, our parenting, and our community. When we expect the worst from others or from ourselves, we create unnecessary stress and can even speak words that damage faith and unity. Recognizing this pattern allows us to break the cycle and choose words and actions that build up rather than tear down. [11:40]

  4. The root of catastrophizing is often perfectionism, pessimism, and a tendency to dwell on negative outcomes. This mindset is fueled by a spirit of doubt and rebellion, as it seeks solutions apart from God and relies on the flesh. The antidote is to renew our minds, seek God’s counsel, and intentionally shift our focus from problems to the Savior, trusting that He is able to redeem even our failures. [14:46]

  5. Practical victory over catastrophic thinking comes through prayer, meditating on God’s promises, and taking every thought captive. Scriptures like Philippians 4:6-7, Isaiah 41:10, and Romans 8:28 remind us that God is with us, working all things for good, and that we are never alone in our struggles. By anchoring our minds in God’s truth and refusing to let fear dictate our responses, we can walk in peace and confidence, no matter the circumstances. [33:45]

Bible Reading

  • Isaiah 30:1-3:
    “Woe to the rebellious children,” says the Lord,
    “Who take counsel, but not of Me,
    And who devise plans, but not of My Spirit,
    That they may add sin to sin;
    Who walk to go down to Egypt,
    And have not asked My advice,
    To strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh,
    And to trust in the shadow of Egypt!
    Therefore the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame,
    And trust in the shadow of Egypt
    Shall be your humiliation.”

  • Numbers 13:31-33: But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”

  • Philippians 4:6-7: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Observation Questions

  1. In Isaiah 30:1-3, what specific actions does God rebuke His people for, and what are the consequences He warns about?

  2. According to Numbers 13:31-33, how did the spies describe themselves compared to the people in the land, and what does this reveal about their mindset?

  3. In Philippians 4:6-7, what does Paul instruct believers to do instead of being anxious, and what is the promised result?

  4. The sermon described “trusting in the shadow of Egypt” as a symbol for what kind of thinking or behavior? ([03:28])

Interpretation Questions

  1. Why does God call seeking counsel apart from Him “rebellion” in Isaiah 30, and how does this relate to catastrophic thinking? ([14:46])

  2. What does the story of the spies in Numbers 13 teach us about how our perspective can distort reality and affect our faith?

  3. The sermon mentioned that even Paul, a spiritual giant, struggled with catastrophic thinking. What does this suggest about the universality of this struggle and how we should respond when we experience it? ([08:49])

  4. According to Philippians 4:6-7, what role does prayer play in overcoming anxiety and catastrophic thinking? How is this different from simply ignoring our problems?

Application Questions

  1. The sermon described how catastrophic thinking can show up in everyday life—like overreacting to small problems, assuming the worst in relationships, or replaying past mistakes. Which of these patterns do you most relate to, and how has it affected your faith or decisions? ([11:40])

  2. When you face a stressful situation, do you tend to “go down to Egypt”—relying on your own solutions or old habits—instead of seeking God’s counsel? Can you share a recent example? ([03:28])

  3. The root of catastrophizing was described as a lack of faith and a spirit of doubt or rebellion. What are some practical ways you can “renew your mind” and shift your focus from problems to God’s promises this week? ([14:46])

  4. The sermon gave five scriptures for victory over catastrophic thinking, including Philippians 4:6-7 and Romans 8:28. Which of these verses speaks to you the most, and how could you use it to combat anxious thoughts in your daily life? ([33:45])

  5. Words have power. The sermon warned that speaking out of catastrophic thinking can damage relationships and faith. Can you think of a time when your words (or someone else’s) made a situation worse? What could you do differently next time? ([11:40])

  6. The sermon challenged us to “take every thought captive” (2 Corinthians 10:5). What is one negative or fearful thought you want to take captive this week, and what truth from God’s Word can you replace it with? ([33:45])

  7. The pastor said, “Our faith is our victory.” What is one area of your life where you need to choose faith over fear right now? How can the group pray for you in this? ([25:50])

  • Hallelujah. This is a message that God put on my heart some time ago. A message that I put together but have not preached to you yet. I'm believing God that He's going to use it tonight, for His glory.

    I want to begin with a scripture from the book of Isaiah, chapter 30. If you join me there. Isaiah chapter 30.

    How many firstborn children are here in this place? All the firstborns? Okay. Well, I'm kind of looking at you tonight, but this is going to be good for everybody. Yeah. But this is certainly a weakness of the firstborns and something that I believe would be helpful. I am one of you, so I know what it's like. So tonight, but this is something that—this is an issue that we can all find ourselves falling into. I want to identify this tonight. I want to call it out by name. I want to ask you to consider with me the sin of catastrophizing.

    There is a story in India, 2019. There was a change in the standard of testing for students and, in 2019, as children or as new university students were entering classes for their first year in college, they had changed the standards of what was required to pass this test. And so all of a sudden, there was a large percentage of these students taking the test that ended up failing—a much larger percentage than those who had taken it before.

    And so, in this year, 2019, about one-third of the students that took this test failed. And that same year, there was a breakout in India of suicides. These students could not handle the failure that previous years did not have to endure. One of the most recent was a 17-year-old girl who took her life after parents say she was feeling depressed after failing a test on her zoology entrance exam.

    After one million students took this test, more than one-third had been notified that they failed. And this prompted a wave of suicides as the students could not handle that failure. How many know that that is a permanent solution to what is a temporary problem? And that is not the right way to handle a failure. It is certainly the wrong reaction to the stress, to the anxiety that that test produced.

    But this is a common problem that some people fall into. And that is overreacting to what, in the long run, are small problems. There's a saying, it goes something like this: making a mountain out of a molehill. And that is the short version of what it means to catastrophize. So to make out of what is nothing into a catastrophe.

    And this is a common mistake. It begins to rob us of our faith, negatively affect our decisions, and ultimately can turn our trust away from God and back to the things of the world. This is what we find in our scripture, Isaiah chapter 30. And God is rebuking His people for making a bad decision. I want you to read it with me tonight.

    Isaiah 30, beginning with verse 1:

    "Woe to the rebellious children, says the Lord. Take counsel, but not of me. Who devise plans, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin. Who walk and go down to Egypt and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt. Therefore, the strength of Pharaoh shall be your shame, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt shall be your humiliation."

    Let's pray for a moment.

    Lord, we come by the precious blood. As we consider this idea tonight, the idea of catastrophizing what happens in our lives, I pray, God, that You would give people a clear mind to assess our own hearts. I pray, God, that You would give us the strength that we need to trust You, believe You, Lord. We thank You for all that You're going to do in Jesus' mighty name. God's people would say, Amen. Amen.

    The sin of catastrophizing. And I want to look first of all at catastrophic thinking. I want to bring a definition to this idea to you. I hope that you'll give me a little bit of liberty tonight as I build this idea in our minds.

    Have you ever found yourself paralyzed by inaction and self-defeat, where we begin to second-guess and lack certainty about a decision that you're going to make? Sometimes we begin to say things like, "I'm not good enough," "I will never be good enough," "I don't have the strength to meet this moment." And what this is tonight—this is a cognitive distortion, where each person who falls into this trap begins to assume the worst possible outcome in a situation, begins to exaggerate the severity of an event or its consequences.

    This can lead to irrational thinking, which leads to heightened anxiety, to fear, and even a sense of hopelessness. In the Bible, it can be seen as a lack of trust, even in God's sovereignty or provision. We see several examples of this that I want to share with you before tonight you write this message off as good for somebody else. I want you to consider that it could be something that we all deal with.

    It is possible to inaccurately evaluate ourselves. In Numbers chapter 13, there's an interesting story there as they send in the spies into the Promised Land. Who remembers the story? They send in 12 spies, one from each tribe. And 10 of the spies come back with a bad report, only to give a good report, by the way—that's a pretty good ratio of how many trust God versus how many doubt: 10 to 2.

    And so, it's a righteous minority. How many know when they went into the land of Canaan, all 12 spies saw all the same 12 things? They saw the same walled cities, they saw the same giants, they saw the same fruit of the eyes. But 10 of them came back and this was their statement in Numbers 13:33:

    "We saw giants, and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

    That scripture has always entertained me. You know why? Because they were assuming how they appeared in front of the eyes of the giants. They were putting themselves behind the eyes of their enemies. They said, "When they look at us, what do they see? Grasshoppers." That's what I'm looking at tonight. They were making a catastrophe out of something that God had already given them the victory over. They were not evaluating that situation correctly.

    What was the real situation? The real situation was that God said to them, "Everywhere you place your foot, I have given you." So be strong and very courageous. Instead, what did they see? They saw giants, walled cities, and they said, "We are like grasshoppers in their eyes." That is the sin of catastrophizing.

    We see it also in the ministry of Paul. This is an interesting scripture I ran across in 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 15. This is Paul on his last letter, getting ready to go and die as a martyr for Jesus. And he is in a prison cell. You can't fault the guy for feeling a little bit bad for himself. And it's one of the few places that we see Paul with a weakness. And this is his own testimony about his ministry:

    "All in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phagellus and Hermogenes."

    So Paul is thinking about his ministry, his discipleship, his effectiveness, his fruitfulness. And he says, "Oh, Timothy, they all turned away from me. They're all, they all left me high and dry. It's over. I'm done. It's gone. It was useless."

    But what's interesting is what Luke said about the apostle Paul. Luke, of course, the writer of the book of Acts, looked at the ministry of Paul and had a different assessment. We see in Acts 19:26:

    "You see in here that not only in Ephesus, but throughout all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands."

    In other words, what Luke said about Paul was very different than what Paul said about himself. You see what I'm saying? Paul is making a catastrophe out of his life. He's looking and saying, "Oh, I just wasted all my time. All that ministry in Asia, in Ephesus, in Thessalonians, all these places—everybody left me." Do you hear what I'm saying? It's catastrophic thinking.

    What he is saying in that letter is not true. Not everyone has turned away from him. In fact, Luke says many throughout all of Asia, Paul has persuaded and turned away many people from idols. In other words, Paul, your ministry was very fruitful and very effective. You might not be able to see it from your prison cell, but know this: you have been faithful.

    You know, we see some people—ever know someone who is a hypochondriac? You know what that is? You can think yourself into being sick, especially if you don't want to go to work. You say, "I think I'm coming down with something." Let me call my boss. That is a form of catastrophic thinking.

    Or you see, you begin Googling some malady and people go on WebMD and begin to search out all kinds of symptoms that you have, and you say, "Oh no, I think I've got it. Think I've got moochakalaka, whatever it is." And then you set up a doctor's appointment and say, "Doc, I read about it on the internet. It must be true. I've got moochakalaka disease because I have this weird thing in the back of my leg." And the doctor says, "What are you talking about? You're just old." If you're not careful, you can believe yourself into becoming sick.

    People who do this are making a catastrophe out of something which really doesn't mean a whole lot.

    There's also, this happens in relationships. Sometimes you can walk by somebody without giving a look on your face, but they read you as being cold or indifferent. And they look at you funny. They must not like me. They must be out to get me. "Pastor didn't shake my hand." You must be mad at me. "I didn't get a text back. They left me on read." See? See, there ain't no love in this church.

    This is the problem that many suffer with—making a catastrophe in your own mind out of something that nobody's actually worried about. In marriage, it can happen. How many married people got into an argument? And you started arguing, and in the midst of the argument, you forget the original reason why you started arguing. I'm not even married this year. How many times you been married? Well done. I can't believe you are okay.

    But the fact is, that is another perfect example of your personal interest. Thank you.

    In parenting, parenting can be very fatalistic because parenting is a big job, right? And you're holding lives of little people in your hands, and it's very, very stressful sometimes. And parents are getting it wrong a lot more than they're getting it right, unfortunately. And sometimes we can begin thinking, "Oh no, I'm messing this kid up so bad they're gonna be on some therapist's couch for 30 years, talking about all the abuse that I put in." And the truth is, kids are pretty adaptable. They're pretty flexible. You're not gonna mess them up every time you make a mistake, parents. But what it is is a mindset that always jumps to the worst case scenario.

    Moms do this a lot about their kids. "Oh no, he didn't call me. You probably did." Parents, especially moms, are always playing out the worst case scenario in your head. "Oh, they're probably kidnapped. They're probably drugged. They're probably in a white van being dragged off to Mexico or something." And this mindset, always jumping to the worst, always making a catastrophe.

    This fear, what it does, can lead to unnecessary stress. If something goes wrong, always assuming that this next failure is gonna take me out, it's gonna kill my faith, it's gonna ruin my family. And there are some people who are more prone to catastrophic thinking. And I want to just give you a few ideas, if this might be you. So don't raise your hand and don't be elbowing people tonight.

    But it's possible. Those who have a tendency toward perfectionism—everything's always got to be right. I said no elbow-throwing. People who are perfectionists, you know why? Because we have high standards. See? All the people who said it, don't look at them too long—they might be thinking catastrophic thoughts.

    So because we have high expectations for ourselves, that means we have a high expectation for everybody else. And when we tend toward perfectionism, the problem is when everything is not perfect—that hurts. There's like pain involved. And so when something goes wrong, the perfectionist tends to take it out on themselves. "I have failed in some way. If I can't do this perfectly, all will fall apart and the world will end."

    People who have catastrophic thinking also tend to be more pessimistic and to see the world as glass half empty—always seeing potential problems and focusing on those things which can go wrong. Also, people who tend to catastrophic thoughts begin to overthink and dwell on the negative outcomes. They tend to replay past mistakes on repeat in their mind, over and over, fixated on negative outcomes. It can be a spiral vortex of "what if" thoughts.

    And this is very bad for you. Allowing this kind of stress and anxiety in your life because when you have these kinds of thoughts that only lead to death and devastation and catastrophe, this actually raises the stress hormones in your body and can make you physically ill. Your brain is not functioning at higher capacity because it is always in fight or flight mode. It's always emotional anxiety.

    So the reason why we fall into this trap of making a catastrophe is really rooted in a spirit of doubt. It's a spirit of lack of faith. It's a faithless reaction to everyday challenges. And this is where our scripture begins to be very helpful.

    Look at what Isaiah says to the people of God in their catastrophic thinking. He says:

    "Woe to the rebellious children, who take counsel but not of me; who devise plans but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin."

    See what this is? It is a multiplication of sinful or rebellious thinking. It has no faith involved. Right where there is faith, fear cannot exist. Do we agree on that? And where there is fear, also, cannot exist. They are polar opposites.

    And so, what this is, if we begin to take counsel but not of God, we begin to take advice from ourselves or from potential outcomes, but it's not from Him, it's not from His Spirit. And this causes a multiplication of rebellious and sinful thoughts. And God has no place in catastrophic thinking. Did you know that?

    When we get into a spiral of "what ifs," it's horrible. It's over. "Oh, am I fruitless? Are all my efforts for nothing? It's all over. Might as well..." You know, there's no God in that equation. There's no faith.

    And that's why God says this is what multiplies sin upon sin. What does it lead to? This is the kind of guilt which leads to death—the sorrow that Paul spoke about, which leads to death. There's no room for God in this kind of thinking.

    What it is, really, is like a demonic faith. It's like I fully expect and believe that bad things are going to happen. And it's completely opposite from how God wants us to think.

    Look at verse 2:

    "Those who walk to go down to Egypt and have not asked my advice, to strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh." In other words, this is Abraham. When there's famine in the land, the first thing he does is say, "We're all gonna die. We're going to Egypt." Right? "We're all gonna die." And they go down to Egypt to find some food. And guess what? When they're down there, not only does he make a bunch of stupid mistakes, but he also picks up a servant girl named Hagar, who becomes quite a problem. They came out of Egypt, but they brought Hagar with them. And see, your catastrophic thinking leads you down to the place where there is no faith. And you might be able to survive, but there will be some that don't.

    Think about Lot for a moment—Abraham's nephew. Remember, there was a quarrel between the shepherds, and Lot said, "Look, Abraham, I want to get along, but there's this situation happening." So Abraham says, "Go ahead and choose which way you want to go. I'll go the other way, and we'll split the land." And Lot looks down at Sodom and Gomorrah and says, "Hey, nice infernal down there. I could raise some cattle, I could make some money, I could do some damage." The problem was, Sodom was a wicked city, and they were so wicked that God had to rain down fire and brimstone on that place.

    Here's the point about that story: Lot survived. He made it out of that city. The angels had to grab him by the hand. But you know who didn't make it out? His wife and two daughters. And the two daughters that did come with him—they were infected. You can bring the girl out of Sodom, but Sodom was still in the girls. You read the story and figure out what that means. It ain't good.

    Here's what I'm saying: Lot went down to that place. Why did he choose that place? Because he thought that if he didn't go there, he was going to die. Don't you wish that Lot would have turned to Abraham and said, "Uncle, come on. We can work this out. We can share the land. We don't have to be separated. Let's believe God." But when he didn't believe, he looked at the land of Sodom and said, "There, if I'm gonna live, I gotta go there."

    Think of Ahab for a second—the most wicked king in the Bible, according to the Word of God. Ahab is the king of Israel. He looks out of his window one day, sees a vineyard, and says, "Hey, that would be a nice vineyard for me." The problem was, it was owned by somebody else. So he goes down and asks him. The man's name is Naboth. Naboth says, "Sorry, king, this has been in my family for generations. You can't have it." And this is how Ahab responded, in 1 Kings 21:4:

    "Ahab went into his house, sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth had spoken, for he said, 'I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.'"

    He laid down on his bed, turned away his face, and he would eat no food. What is he? Four years old? This is the sin of catastrophe. He's the king. He could plant his own vineyard. He could buy wine from other nations. He could do anything he wanted. But because somebody told him no, he says, "All my life is over." He goes to bed, and everybody feels sorry for him.

    And his life got worse after that because Jezebel took authority and control and killed Naboth. The story just goes bad from there. The sting of rejection causes him to shut down emotionally and physically. This is the sin of catastrophe. It is the brain overestimating the situation—that picture of making a mountain out of a molehill, expanding a small problem into a huge crisis.

    This is the worst thing that ever happened to me. And I've seen people in that exact same place. When we repeatedly imagine worst-case scenarios, making catastrophes—what they call your "lizard brain," the amygdala—that's the part of your brain that is like the animal part of you, the base nature. But when we play out those worst-case scenarios, your amygdala treats those thoughts as if they are reality. It is a wicked, demonic kind of faith. I believe that it's always going to be bad and only going to be bad. I don't believe that God could ever move on this situation.

    What kind of God do we serve? We serve a God of the possible or the impossible. People stress hormones flood our body when we catastrophize. We enter into fight or flight. And ultimately, the devil could take advantage.

    Isaiah, in our scripture, is speaking to people who have drifted into rebellion and idolatry. He is saying, because your faith is in Egypt, your faith is in Pharaoh—that you are being dominated by their shadow. Everybody say the word "shadow." Does a shadow have any power over you? No. You have power over the shadow, right? But because the people of God trust in Pharaoh, that shadow of their previous slavery is now dominating their hearts and minds. And it gives them, according to the word of God, first of all, a false security.

    The shadow of Egypt symbolizes the power of that great military might—that maybe Egypt could save them from their enemies. God warned them that they shouldn't trust in Egypt. They shouldn't rely on them. Secondly, it shows that they were trusting in the flesh rather than in God. Egypt is always a picture of flesh—making decisions out of carnal desires. This is throughout biblical history. It's a repeated mistake: every time Israel wants to do something, there's this call from Egypt. "Yeah, but you could have it better down there." In fact, they came out of Egypt, and as soon as they got hungry, they said, "Man, we wish we could go back to Egypt, where at least we had three meals a day." Yeah, they were whipping our backs, yeah, they were killing our children, but at least we weren't hungry. That's the shadow of Egypt dominating over them.

    Listen to Jeremiah 17:5:

    "Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord."

    Let's look at the cure of this sin of catastrophizing. And really, it's very simple tonight: faith over fear. It's choosing to believe God in spite of what you can see. It's going to require gaining God's perspective. You know, that means seeing things the way God sees them, not the way you see them. That's a problem for us sometimes because we see our difficult situations, our broken relationships, our money problems, and we see a lot of bad stuff around us.

    But what faith says is, "I'm not looking at it through my point of view, through my negative, demonic faith view. I want to see it from God's perspective." What is possible if God is truly God? And that's where faith begins to change your mind.

    How do we get God's perspective? Well, we have to get into His Word. We have to spend time with Him in prayer. We can't isolate ourselves and not spend time with other people. And I believe that we should confront the reality: is it possible that I'm making this tiny little problem into a huge catastrophe in my head?

    That is what it means to map out new thought patterns, like it says in Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

    So, you perfectionists, you people with high standards and expectations—when it doesn't all work out the way you like, you got to trust God. You need to believe that He knows what He's doing. Your story isn't over. God might even use the bad things that happen for His glory.

    Hard Bunky said this: "Stress and pressure come from looking at the problem. Peace comes from looking at the Savior." What are you looking at tonight? We need to direct our eyes to the Savior.

    Peter, as long as his eyes were on Jesus, was walking on the storm. But when his eyes were diverted, he began to sink. Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 61:1:

    "Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

    You know, there is a reality that God's power is outside of your ability to understand. Did you ever consider that? When you can't see the way out, from the end of the earth, David prayed, "God, I think You're still in control." And I'm going to believe that.

    I love David's energy in the song. I love his prayers and his crying out to the Lord because David didn't candy-coat anything. He laid it all out before God: "God, it's bad. It's horrible. My enemies, the king, I'm running. I have to act like a fool. Oh, it's over." And then somewhere in the song, he'll make a switch and say, "Why are you disquieted within me, O my soul?" He begins talking to himself, and he'll say, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" You know why I love that? Because David is almost having an out-of-body experience. He's looking at himself in this situation, and he's saying, "Dude, you serve God. Why are you so sad, bro?" You gotta have that voice in your head. You gotta be able to get out of the pain of your situation for a moment.

    "Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why are you disquieted within me?" And then he commands himself: "Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him." Yeah, it might feel bad. Yeah, it might look bad. But you know what? God is still in control.

    Can I give you some practical advice to catastrophic thinkers? You're not in Egypt. You're just in the shadow of Egypt. However bad it might feel, you're still saved. You're a child of the Most High God. It's not as bad as you think it is.

    And if that's true tonight, then you need to be careful how you speak, because words have power. Sometimes you'll utter words that have destructive power—that can destroy relationships, destroy blessing, destroy faith. If you can't say anything good, this is Mama's advice: just shut up until you got something good to say. There's some wisdom in that. Maybe you let God speak. Don't you speak.

    Remember we talked about the 12 spies? There were two—two spies that had a different perspective. Remember them? They're famous in the Bible: Caleb and Joshua. They came back, and remember—they saw all the same problems. They saw all the same difficulties. They saw all the same catastrophes. But they came away with a different perspective. They said, "Yeah, we saw the giants. We believe. Yes, that was bigger than all that."

    Smith Wigglesworth said, "I'm not moved by what I see. I'm not moved by what I feel. I am moved by what I believe."

    Catastrophic thinking really is rebellion against God. If we be real specific about it, Joshua and Caleb called out those other spies, and they said, "Do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land. For those people—they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."

    I want to tell you tonight: your faith is your victory. You might need to receive that tonight. Your faith is your victory.

    Woe to the rebellious children, it says in our scripture, who take counsel but not of me; who devise plans but not of my spirit; who walk down to Egypt but have not asked my advice. So what is our cure tonight for catastrophic thinking? Let's flip it around. We should take counsel in God. We should devise plans by His Spirit. We should ask His advice. And we should find our strength in God.

    Let me give you a few scriptures as we close, five scriptures you can begin to speak over yourself when you find yourself in that sinking pit of catastrophe. Are you ready?

    First: Philippians 4:6-7:

    "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

    When we are in catastrophic thinking, this fuels our anxiety, adds to our stress—like gasoline on a fire. But this verse teaches that instead of spiraling into fear, we should bring our concerns to God and trust Him.

    Second: Isaiah 41:10:

    "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

    When we are in catastrophic thinking, we think we're all alone. But this scripture says, "No, you're never alone." Jesus said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." You are not powerless. You are not a victim. God gives you His upholding power.

    Third: 2 Corinthians 10:5:

    "Taking every thought captive, and bringing every thought into obedience to Christ, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God."

    This sin of catastrophizing is a sin of the mind. It all happens in here. It is like a war, and the battle is fought on the battlefield of your mind. The Bible says we have the ability to take our thoughts captive. You don't have to be a slave to your thoughts.

    Fourth: Matthew 6:34:

    "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

    Often, catastrophic thinking is about next month, next year, five years from now. Jesus said, "Why don't you just worry about today? Why don't you just take care of what you need to do today?" The devil would love for you to be so paralyzed thinking about seven years from now that you don't do the right thing now. Worrying about worst-case scenarios—how they will play out. How about we focus on today and trust God for tomorrow?

    Fifth: Romans 8:28:

    "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

    You see, catastrophic thinking is quite the opposite. All things work for evil. All things are going to kill me. Everybody hates me. I'm a loser. I might as well just die. I might as well quit. Might as well give up. That is so opposite to what the scripture tells us—that God is working all things together for good. We think disaster, and God says, "That's going to turn out good. Just wait. I'm cooking something up here." Stir it up. You know, the individual things—you sprinkle a little paprika. If you take a bite of paprika by itself, it doesn't taste good, right? But you sprinkle it on the right thing, at the right place, in the right amount, stir it up—it's going to be great. I'm telling you, even in difficulties, even when it looks bad and feels bad, God is working it for His good. You've got to trust that, church.

    And so, I have found myself caught in this trap. That's why I'm preaching this message tonight. I hope it's helpful for somebody here. Don't make the mistake like the apostle Paul did. I'm grateful that it's in the Bible. It shows me that even Paul had some catastrophic thinking. He said, "They all abandoned me. They all left me for dead. Everybody hates me. I'm useless. All my ministry is worthless. I'm just going to die." And forgive me, but Luke looked at him and said, "Paul, this man has made a powerful impact across the continent." Can we get a different perspective on the difficulties we're going through?

    Let's bow our heads tonight and close our eyes. God is so faithful to help us. Before we close this service, I believe God is speaking to some hearts. God is going to do a work in somebody's life tonight. Before we dismiss, we want to take a moment to speak to someone here who might be caught in sin. The Bible says that sin is a trap, a bondage. Those who sin fall into a trap of sin, but they can get out of that trap in their own strength, in their own ability. The Bible says Jesus died on the cross, rose from the grave, to defeat death, hell, and the grave. He defeated sin at the cross.

    And the Bible says that if we will turn from our sin and trust in Him with all our heart, you don't have to be trapped by sin. Tonight, if you're here and you're being honest with God, honest with yourself, you're saying, "Pastor, I don't know that I'm right with God, but I want to get right. I want to confess my sins and turn from them, and trust that Jesus will save me." In a moment, if that's you, quickly, we want to pray for you. Is there someone here? Unsaved or backslidden in your heart—you need redemption, you need forgiveness. Tonight, would you lift up a hand quickly? This evening, believe in God that He's going to save somebody here. Is that you? Quickly, right now, lift up your hand. I want to pray with someone here.

    God speaking to you, would you respond with an uplifted hand? Unsaved or backslidden in your heart, this is an opportunity you cannot miss. Is there anyone at all? Quickly, one last call: you need the power of salvation. You want to be born again into the family of God as one of His children. Please, don't miss this opportunity. Don't walk away from this service without knowing Christ is your Savior. And God is your Father. Is that you tonight? Quickly, lift up your hand.

    Amen. I don't change this call. We're going to open up this altar. I realize that maybe not everyone has this tendency, not everyone commits this sin. Love you—I have gone through it. I know for sure somebody else has gone through it. If the apostle Paul can look at his life and say, "What a waste of time. Everybody left me, abandoned me in Asia," that wasn't true. He was assessing his own life from a certain point of view that looked like doom and gloom. The reality was much, much better.

    And tonight, maybe you have been counseling from the shadow of Egypt. Maybe you've been thinking the way you used to think in the past. And this sin of catastrophe—there's no room for God in this kind of thinking. And if you've ever found yourself caught in that trap, I want to encourage you tonight: there is a God who is bigger than our thoughts. There is a God who is bigger than our perspective. There is a God who is able to take all things and work them together for His good.

    And I want to encourage you tonight, at this altar, to pray. I need a spirit of faith, Pastor. I want to pray. This is not some Pollyanna, some rose-colored glasses, that we take a pill and pretend everything is good. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about a faithful expectation of good things to come, based on the character of who God is. You know that God is good, and that God can work whatever you're going through right now. He can work it for His good.

    If that is your heart tonight, and you want to believe God for that, and you want to cast out the sin of catastrophic thinking, I want to encourage you to come. Let's stand up to our feet. Let's go to this altar together, and let's begin to cry out to God in this place.

Keep an eye on our Facebook Page for Daily Devotionals based on this message over the next five days.

Written with Love by Pastor Adam Dragoon

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