Any Christians with scary intrusive thoughts?

[sarah78]

Hello,

Not sure where to put this post but I've been doing fairly well, up until last night when I was out at my recovery group and during worship I all of a sudden had a scary christian thought and have since been in fear of it. I know that it could be my anxiety, but as you all know could this be spiritual? I feel like this could be an attack, but I'm not strong enough to handle this.

I hope there a Christian out there who can help me...

Thanks.

[dhz]

Hello,

Not sure where to put this post but I've been doing fairly well, up until last night when I was out at my recovery group and during worship I all of a sudden had a scary christian thought and have since been in fear of it. I know that it could be my anxiety, but as you all know could this be spiritual? I feel like this could be an attack, but I'm not strong enough to handle this.

I hope there a Christian out there who can help me...

Thanks.

Remember God will never give more than you can handal. Though sometime it does feel he's giving us a lot more than we can handal, but I guess it's also what makes us grow closer to him.

[Noahs Mom]

Romans 5:3-5 always helps me in this type of crisis.  There is a purpose to our sufferings...  I love it so much, I even have it tattoo'd to my foot! :)  Anyway,  even Christians of the strongest heart are afflicted by anxiety/OCD.  Give it to God.  Tell him these thoughts that are coming into your mind.  Sometimes I want to hide them from God (as if that were possible)... it's far better to start praying right away.... it'll help you put your mind to ease.


The only way to fight off evil is with the Word of God himself...  That's what Jesus did in the desert, remember?

[hkov]

Hey Sarah, its me Heather.  Yes those thoughts are really normal for us.  I do have those thoughts too. Your not alone.  im reading a book by Charles Stanley.  Came across a comforting sentence....Jesus knwe that God permits things to happen in our lives only for a certain period of time and for a particular reason.  Thats makes me feel good to know that what we are going through is for  a purpose.  Hope it helps!!

[tigerpaw]

What was the scary Christian Thought?

Let me know in chat, id love to find out.

Peace, and God Bless!!

[studdmuffin]

there was once a period of time when i would go to church and would fight off panic attacks. it got very bad one day when i though i was having a stroke but, I forced myself to remain calm and i would recite the beatitudes in my head and think about the rewards one might receive for persevering. 

[hkov]

tigerpaw:  i had those scary christian thoughts too.  for me, their just too embarassing to repeat.  I cant stand feeling like this.  My stomach is always ina knot and I feel like vomiting all the time.  This is ridiculous

[AnxiouSteve]

What was the scary Christian Thought?

Let me know in chat, id love to find out.

Peace, and God Bless!!

I'm curious too. 

[dhylles]

happy to see there are other christians like me on here that have the same problems and issues and i thank you all of sharing. i thought God was punishing me in a way for all of my mistakes i have made in this life.  sometimes i pray so much and feel that he does not answer me and then boom out of nowhere he answers me and reveals to me what i need or what he knows i need. i am going through so much with my depression and anxiety and have always been so strong in my faith and it was sucked out of me recently and i am trying to so hard to build it back up that sometimes i don't even know who i am and i feel so lost and i too have really negative thoughts in my head and i have to ask God for strength and guidance.

[AnxiouSteve]

So I was reading up on OCD on Wikipedia (I think I may have a dash of it), and I read something that reminded me of this thread:

Intrusive thoughts and fears

Intrusive thoughts are unwelcome, involuntary thoughts, images or unpleasant ideas that may become obsessions, are upsetting or distressing, and can be difficult to be free of and manage. As with other forms of OCD, the awareness of the irrationality of these thoughts can be frustrating as the individual wishes to stop them but cannot. Intrusive thoughts, urges, and images are of inappropriate things at inappropriate times, usually falling into three categories: inappropriate aggressive thoughts, inappropriate sexual thoughts, and blasphemous religious thoughts. Most people experience these thoughts; when they are associated with OCD or depression, they may become paralyzing, anxiety-provoking, and persistent.

[sarah78]

happy to see there are other christians like me on here that have the same problems and issues and i thank you all of sharing. i thought God was punishing me in a way for all of my mistakes i have made in this life.  sometimes i pray so much and feel that he does not answer me and then boom out of nowhere he answers me and reveals to me what i need or what he knows i need. i am going through so much with my depression and anxiety and have always been so strong in my faith and it was sucked out of me recently and i am trying to so hard to build it back up that sometimes i don't even know who i am and i feel so lost and i too have really negative thoughts in my head and i have to ask God for strength and guidance.

I feel the exact same way. My faith has been challenged through this, I find myself distancing myself from God. It is hard, but it is for my peace of mind right now. I am not having anymore intrusive thoughts, but maybe that's because of the distance...I also find myself questioning stuff all the time if I do happen to read the bible..My questions are always very deep and I know that in reality, these questions could never be answered in this lifetime..I just wish that i could find something more absolute when it comes to my faith, I know faith cannot be based on feelings, but I wish that in someway I could have a real assurance that he is there..

The only positive that I can see through this, is that I have found a very real and purposeful strength within myself, that I do plan on using for the good of others now and later on...

Thanks for posting, I appreciate your honesty as well :-)

Sarah

[GADDY]

He is with you.  I used to feel distanced also but after a traumatic job loss incident I received a tip from one of my friends at Bible study to read the day's gospel daily and write a journal recording the gospel reading, a one sentance summary of the reading, and what it means to you including a little prayer.  I have been doing it evey night and feeling closer to him already.  To get the day's gospel reading you can go on line http://www.dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM or borrow one of the missals at your church.  Hope you feel his presence in your life soon, it really does wonders and brings me peace.

[ashcrash85]

Oh boy do I understand.

The intrusive thoughts are normal for anxious, depressive, OCD, you name it folks. Even though they're normal they're still incredibly scary.

I think it's normal to have some deep questions about the Bible, after all, man is a very curious creature. We want to understand our surroundings, we want to learn how to work and control it. Heck, my husband and I have had quite a few deep discussions about the Bible together and with my grandfather (who is a Pastor). They're always interesting, but we always come to the same conclusion, we'll ask Him when we see Him. God never puts mountains before us that we can't climb. Even though it feels like we'll never make it, we keep going on. When we get through it, we look back and are amazed at our strength and ability to get through. Remember the poem, " My precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

There is a reason for all that happens to us, even though it's not clear now, we'll see it later.

 

[sarah78]

Thank you GADDY and scaredcrazee, I really do appreciate both of your posts! :-)

Take Care.

[NightOwl]

I know someone who never seems to have anxiety and is Christian and she has intrusive thoughts (or did at some point, anyway).  Also I have too, but I try to just not let them get to me and ask that God knows it's not me exactly "thinking" them exactly.  I am always worried that the whole "unforgivable sin" will go through my mind just because of OCD.  But something going through the mind and actually "feeling it"surely aren't the same thing.  i hope.  lol  Because otherwise a lot of random thoughts could go through my mind and be outrageous and be there just because they "can" and then me being held accountable would be pretty scary since I feel I can't control them.

[kmann1969]

Sarah, I believe there is anxiety and panic and depression, that are physical , then there are spiritual attacks that are diffrent . We must realize that we as Christians have a enemy that will do all that's in his power to make us give up on God ,that's his ultimate goal . When I'm having anxiety and panic one of the first things i do is go to the Lord with it and accept it . When you don't fear death or leaving it takes the sting out of alot of the anxiety. Its sounds kinda morbid but I'm excited about dying when The lord calls me home , you always have to remember that we are indestructible until God calls us home!!! If your having alot of weird thoughts that detract you from your faith then its almost always spiritual. God bless you and i will be in prayer for you and everyone on this forum

Kevin