What If You’re Overthinking Your Next Step?
If you’ve already listened to Episode 8, I want to slow this down even further.
In the episode, we talked about movement. About overthinking. About the difference between caution and fear.
But here’s something we didn’t fully unpack:
Overthinking doesn’t always look like doubt.
Sometimes it looks like responsibility.
It sounds like this:
“I just want to be wise.”
“I don’t want to move ahead of God.”
“I’m waiting for clarity.”
And those are good instincts.
The problem isn’t discernment.
The problem is when discernment quietly becomes delay.
Why Overthinking Feels Safer Than Obedience
Obedience requires exposure.
Once you take a step, something becomes visible:
Your effort.
Your vulnerability.
Your imperfection.
Your outcome.
Overthinking protects you from that exposure.
As long as the decision lives in your head, it stays safe. Hypothetical. Untested.
But faith was never meant to live in theory.
It was meant to be embodied.
James writes that faith without works is dead. Not because effort earns anything — but because faith is meant to move.
Sometimes the reason we feel spiritually exhausted isn’t because we’ve done too much.
It’s because we’ve been carrying decisions in our mind that were meant to be carried by our feet.
A Question We Didn’t Ask on the Podcast
Here’s something to sit with:
What feels riskier right now — taking the step… or staying in analysis?
Overthinking gives you the illusion of control.
But it also keeps you suspended.
Obedience may feel uncertain — but it moves you into experience.
And experience is where growth happens.
The Difference Between Clarity and Confirmation
There’s another subtle distinction worth exploring.
Sometimes we aren’t actually waiting for clarity.
We’re waiting for confirmation.
Clarity tells you what the step is.
Confirmation tells you it will work out.
God often gives clarity.
He rarely gives guarantees.
Abraham was clear that he was supposed to go.
He was not guaranteed how it would unfold.
The Israelites were clear that they were supposed to move.
They were not shown the dry path ahead of time.
If you already know what the next step is, what you may be waiting for isn’t clarity.
It may be reassurance.
And reassurance often follows obedience, not precedes it.
A Simple Practice for This Week
Instead of asking yourself, “What’s the right decision?” try this exercise:
Write down the step you keep replaying.
Ask, “What am I afraid might happen if I take this?”
Then ask, “What might happen if I don’t?”
Let the answers be honest.
Fear grows vague in your head.
It shrinks when it’s named.
Then ask one final question:
If I trusted God with the outcome, would I move?
That question usually reveals more than another week of thinking.
When It’s Actually Not Time to Move
Let’s also be clear — sometimes waiting really is obedience.
If the step violates Scripture.
If it’s rooted in ego or impulse.
If it harms instead of heals.
Pause.
Faithful movement is aligned movement.
But if the only thing holding you back is discomfort… that’s different.
Growth almost always stretches you before it steadies you.
A Gentle Closing Thought
You don’t need to rush your life.
But you also don’t need to live in rehearsal.
At some point, the prayer becomes a step.
The reflection becomes a conversation.
The idea becomes an action.
And often, peace doesn’t come when you figure it out.
It comes when you start walking.
If you haven’t listened to Episode 8 yet, you can do that here. And if you have, let this be your quiet companion as you consider what faithfulness looks like this week.
The leap matters.
But the next faithful step is what builds your life.
What Happens After You Finally Move?
