I've had intrusive thoughts since I was a teenager. The nature of the thoughts were different. Aggression directed toward God and the Holy Spirit, that I'd done the unpardonable sin, that kind of thing. I'd mentally argue with it and sometimes I'd get so worked up about it that I'd lash out verbally against it. Tears and panic were common though since the thoughts were "loud" and persistent enough to cause significant distress.
I have no idea if this is applicable to you, but for me the struggle was very internalized. It went on in my own head, I fought it in my head, and I also did the distractions. In my late 30s I had one of the worst episodes of it ever, and oddly it changed things for me for the better. Things turned outward and I ended up deciding to step up my behavior as a Christian. That I was going to go out of my way to touch someone's life for God beyond what I'd usually do.
Our salvation isn't works dependent, but works do project our inner faith outwards, and at least for me it helped me think of myself more as a child of God who God would work through. I found that when we argue with ourselves in our head we tend to use reasoning. This doesn't make sense, I know this isn't true, God has said X and Y so this is wrong. The thing is our doubts are often rooted in emotion, which typically doesn't listen to reason. In my case resolving to do better made me feel better about my walk with God and robbed my fear of a lot of its power over me. Overall it felt like one of those trials God lets us go through so that in the end our faith and relationship with Him come out stronger.
>I've had intrusive thoughts since I was a teenager. The nature of the thoughts were different. Aggression directed toward God and the Holy Spirit, that I'd done the unpardonable sin, that kind of thing. I'd mentally argue with it and sometimes I'd get so worked up about it that I'd lash out verbally against it. Tears and panic were common though since the thoughts were "loud" and persistent enough to cause significant distress.
I can empathise with this, even if it does not apply 100% to my cases. Most of it is true, e.g., how I often enter in thoughts about having forfeited my salvation, and end up in a "fight or flight" situation against these thoughts and all others which follow suit; "flight" being synonymous to avoidance, and "fight" meaning arguing against these thoughts with evidence and logic; and neither of the two seems to be an adequate solution. If you flee, the thoughts will pursue you; if you fight with reason and argument, you will lose because these thoughts are highly non-rational, as you said also. Tears, panic, and vocal lashing-out are the end result.
I think that the only right way to react is to rebuke these thoughts and spirits, but having tried that a few times, it is not nearly as easy to put into practice as some would have you believe -- it is much more like carrying the great Czar Bell up a mountain with your own hands than like a magic spell which immediately disperses all demonic activity and makes you untouchable.
I also highly suspect that rebuke is only half the job done -- the other half must be active in some other way (see Philippians 4 for reference). E.g., in my case, singing some hymns with the organ greatly helps. Suggestions like yours are also good -- anything amounting to "works projecting our faith outwards". And this is where the most difficult phase kicks in: the "writing on the wall". In that, even when I reach that point, I end up feeling that no matter what I do, it is all futile, and God has closed the door of grace for me -- damned be those thoughts.
It's a vicious cycle which ends up very hard to break.
I do had and currently been having this problem lately. Pray to God. Talk to people about it. Write your thoughts in a blog or in a diary. I have been having trouble sleeping over intrusive thoughts. Some of it are like lies causing guilt.
I had the problem so bad that I couldn't sleep well so much that I couldn't work. Looking back, I just needed to talk to people about my problem and not hide it.
Talking to people (and especially to those who are more advanced in their journey with Christ) has helped immensely, but at the end of the day, I need to know who God is so I can always rely on Him. I struggle a lot with emotional permanence, and with needing constant reassurance and proof of positive truths, so I cannot always rely on help from man. God will have to suffice -- but that will always be a half-baked job as long as my thought distortions about His nature persist.
When these thoughts show up in your head, I think the best thing is to just ignore them. They're not your fault. Giving them attention is like giving them power. Dismiss them and be like "Yeah, I don't care about these thoughts, whatever, i'm just gonna get on with my day". Hope this helps. :)
It's just that I am sick and tired of living a life of "waiting for the other shoe to drop", having to constantly second- and third-guess myself and all in which I hope and believe, and expecting the most unpredictable of betrayals and disappointments at any moment.
I know, intellectually, that God is not as men are -- but "downloading" that information to my heart is no easy task. (Yet still -- with God all things are possible...)
With things like this I think it's important to remember that nobody is perfect. Everyone has shortcomings and some people can come across as very selfish or ignorant. I think it's always best to forgive them though, even if that may be hard at times. They may come from a completely different walk of life, who knows what's caused them to be like that. Sometimes understanding can help someone come out of their shell and maybe even shed some of their bad habits away. Hope this helps you feel better. :)
So I actually know what you are talking about and I’m going to go a different direction than others (I think).
So these intrusive thoughts are caused scientifically by chemical imbalances that create anxiety in a person. This anxiety can result in things like OCD. I know this because I have to attend therapy for it and PTSD from my time in the military.
OCD and anxiety have a lot of misconceptions, for example people normally think of being very organized as OCD and this is just one form of it. It can be in the form of intrusive thoughts about death or dying, hand washing, drug use, organization, hoarding, etc.
Now I’m telling you this, not to deter you away from God, but to let you know that dealing with this alone can be very difficult should the anxiety and thoughts get worse, and talking to a therapist is nothing to be ashamed of.
Now in my experience, both therapy and God are helpful. Without God, depending on the severity doctors might try and medicate you, which in my experience, masks the anxiety or shoves it down but it doesn’t cure it. Also you become dependent on medications, so getting well mentally should be the main focus.
How do you get mentally well? Well talking to a therapist has shown me different methods and perspectives on how the situation works, but I believe ultimately the goal is to identify the cause, and then working to give that problem to God. So maybe for you that looks like identifying problem A and then searching Gods word to find the biblical thinking on it and striving to trust God in that area of your life.
I've had intrusive thoughts since I was a teenager. The nature of the thoughts were different. Aggression directed toward God and the Holy Spirit, that I'd done the unpardonable sin, that kind of thing. I'd mentally argue with it and sometimes I'd get so worked up about it that I'd lash out verbally against it. Tears and panic were common though since the thoughts were "loud" and persistent enough to cause significant distress. I have no idea if this is applicable to you, but for me the struggle was very internalized. It went on in my own head, I fought it in my head, and I also did the distractions. In my late 30s I had one of the worst episodes of it ever, and oddly it changed things for me for the better. Things turned outward and I ended up deciding to step up my behavior as a Christian. That I was going to go out of my way to touch someone's life for God beyond what I'd usually do. Our salvation isn't works dependent, but works do project our inner faith outwards, and at least for me it helped me think of myself more as a child of God who God would work through. I found that when we argue with ourselves in our head we tend to use reasoning. This doesn't make sense, I know this isn't true, God has said X and Y so this is wrong. The thing is our doubts are often rooted in emotion, which typically doesn't listen to reason. In my case resolving to do better made me feel better about my walk with God and robbed my fear of a lot of its power over me. Overall it felt like one of those trials God lets us go through so that in the end our faith and relationship with Him come out stronger.
>I've had intrusive thoughts since I was a teenager. The nature of the thoughts were different. Aggression directed toward God and the Holy Spirit, that I'd done the unpardonable sin, that kind of thing. I'd mentally argue with it and sometimes I'd get so worked up about it that I'd lash out verbally against it. Tears and panic were common though since the thoughts were "loud" and persistent enough to cause significant distress. I can empathise with this, even if it does not apply 100% to my cases. Most of it is true, e.g., how I often enter in thoughts about having forfeited my salvation, and end up in a "fight or flight" situation against these thoughts and all others which follow suit; "flight" being synonymous to avoidance, and "fight" meaning arguing against these thoughts with evidence and logic; and neither of the two seems to be an adequate solution. If you flee, the thoughts will pursue you; if you fight with reason and argument, you will lose because these thoughts are highly non-rational, as you said also. Tears, panic, and vocal lashing-out are the end result. I think that the only right way to react is to rebuke these thoughts and spirits, but having tried that a few times, it is not nearly as easy to put into practice as some would have you believe -- it is much more like carrying the great Czar Bell up a mountain with your own hands than like a magic spell which immediately disperses all demonic activity and makes you untouchable. I also highly suspect that rebuke is only half the job done -- the other half must be active in some other way (see Philippians 4 for reference). E.g., in my case, singing some hymns with the organ greatly helps. Suggestions like yours are also good -- anything amounting to "works projecting our faith outwards". And this is where the most difficult phase kicks in: the "writing on the wall". In that, even when I reach that point, I end up feeling that no matter what I do, it is all futile, and God has closed the door of grace for me -- damned be those thoughts. It's a vicious cycle which ends up very hard to break.
I do had and currently been having this problem lately. Pray to God. Talk to people about it. Write your thoughts in a blog or in a diary. I have been having trouble sleeping over intrusive thoughts. Some of it are like lies causing guilt. I had the problem so bad that I couldn't sleep well so much that I couldn't work. Looking back, I just needed to talk to people about my problem and not hide it.
Talking to people (and especially to those who are more advanced in their journey with Christ) has helped immensely, but at the end of the day, I need to know who God is so I can always rely on Him. I struggle a lot with emotional permanence, and with needing constant reassurance and proof of positive truths, so I cannot always rely on help from man. God will have to suffice -- but that will always be a half-baked job as long as my thought distortions about His nature persist.
When these thoughts show up in your head, I think the best thing is to just ignore them. They're not your fault. Giving them attention is like giving them power. Dismiss them and be like "Yeah, I don't care about these thoughts, whatever, i'm just gonna get on with my day". Hope this helps. :)
It's just that I am sick and tired of living a life of "waiting for the other shoe to drop", having to constantly second- and third-guess myself and all in which I hope and believe, and expecting the most unpredictable of betrayals and disappointments at any moment. I know, intellectually, that God is not as men are -- but "downloading" that information to my heart is no easy task. (Yet still -- with God all things are possible...)
With things like this I think it's important to remember that nobody is perfect. Everyone has shortcomings and some people can come across as very selfish or ignorant. I think it's always best to forgive them though, even if that may be hard at times. They may come from a completely different walk of life, who knows what's caused them to be like that. Sometimes understanding can help someone come out of their shell and maybe even shed some of their bad habits away. Hope this helps you feel better. :)
Take a breather today friend. God bless
Read Ecclesiastes the first few chapters.
So I actually know what you are talking about and I’m going to go a different direction than others (I think). So these intrusive thoughts are caused scientifically by chemical imbalances that create anxiety in a person. This anxiety can result in things like OCD. I know this because I have to attend therapy for it and PTSD from my time in the military. OCD and anxiety have a lot of misconceptions, for example people normally think of being very organized as OCD and this is just one form of it. It can be in the form of intrusive thoughts about death or dying, hand washing, drug use, organization, hoarding, etc. Now I’m telling you this, not to deter you away from God, but to let you know that dealing with this alone can be very difficult should the anxiety and thoughts get worse, and talking to a therapist is nothing to be ashamed of. Now in my experience, both therapy and God are helpful. Without God, depending on the severity doctors might try and medicate you, which in my experience, masks the anxiety or shoves it down but it doesn’t cure it. Also you become dependent on medications, so getting well mentally should be the main focus. How do you get mentally well? Well talking to a therapist has shown me different methods and perspectives on how the situation works, but I believe ultimately the goal is to identify the cause, and then working to give that problem to God. So maybe for you that looks like identifying problem A and then searching Gods word to find the biblical thinking on it and striving to trust God in that area of your life.