So here's a curveball for ya'. I need some opinions/thoughts. I have always had an issue with anxiety and worry. Lately, this has spilled over into what I would describe as intrusive thoughts. Allow me to explain. I, like any other believe, am not perfect. In particular, I have recently come to realize that I struggle with the sin of lust. I have prayed and asked God for His assistance in overcoming this sin. But here's where my question comes in. The aforementioned intrusive thoughts have come to manifest themselves in relation to my concern over my struggle with lust. This is going to sound strange, but being a shorter guy, I am very self-conscious about my height. I have been having intense fear/paranoia lately that if I do not conquer the sin I struggle within some imagined time frame that God my punish me by causing me to shrink in height, even though medically this is extremely unlikely as I am only 22 years old and very healthy. This has caused me to obsessively measure my height, and as I said, be constantly in fear and paranoia. Strange and unusual, I am well aware. Now, of course I know that God is grieved when we sin, and has given us a conscience in conjunction with His law laid out in the Bible to alert us to when we are sinning. That is definitely not lost on me, and I do have a genuine desire to overcome my struggle with lust. However, in your opinion, do these paranoid thoughts come from God as some sort of warning, or from a less benign source?
Are these thoughts from God or elsewhere? Please help :(
- Thread starter leo_fender
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I know first hand how disconcerting and uneasy it can be to have unwanted subconscious thoughts. You know deep down that you don't agree with those thoughts and don't want those feelings, and you're not entirely sure why you have them.
To get to the root of the issue you might want to see a professional to help you sort through your thoughts and feelings.
Unfortunately I am not short, so I can't relate to your thoughts and experiences though maybe someone else can. There are support groups for short people if you look around on the internet. I know reddit has one, but reddit is filled with lots of temptation. Which leads me to your struggle with lust.
I am assuming you struggle with inappropriate content addiction. And you know lusting after these inappropriate contentographic images/videos is not what you should be doing. There are also online support groups for that too.
Maybe your anxiety, lustfulness, and paranoia are all related? Are you happy in life? Or are you just going through the motions? Do you have a mental fog? Do you lack motivation? Maybe you are using inappropriate content to escape from your current situation? You don't like your height, you don't like being anxious. I'm going to guess you don't have a lot of friends either? You need to figure out how to make yourself happy without resorting to sinful and addictive acts. Can you remember a period in your life where you were the most happy? Maybe you can try to figure out why you were happy then, and how you can make yourself happy now?
To get to the root of the issue you might want to see a professional to help you sort through your thoughts and feelings.
Unfortunately I am not short, so I can't relate to your thoughts and experiences though maybe someone else can. There are support groups for short people if you look around on the internet. I know reddit has one, but reddit is filled with lots of temptation. Which leads me to your struggle with lust.
I am assuming you struggle with inappropriate content addiction. And you know lusting after these inappropriate contentographic images/videos is not what you should be doing. There are also online support groups for that too.
Maybe your anxiety, lustfulness, and paranoia are all related? Are you happy in life? Or are you just going through the motions? Do you have a mental fog? Do you lack motivation? Maybe you are using inappropriate content to escape from your current situation? You don't like your height, you don't like being anxious. I'm going to guess you don't have a lot of friends either? You need to figure out how to make yourself happy without resorting to sinful and addictive acts. Can you remember a period in your life where you were the most happy? Maybe you can try to figure out why you were happy then, and how you can make yourself happy now?
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Spiritual warfare my friend. Ephesians 6:10-17
I have a few questions, have you been filled with the Holy Ghost since you have believed on Jesus Christ our Lord.
Secondly, that anxiety is not from GOD it is from spiritual wickedness in high places. Spend more time in prayer and reading the Word of GOD and find verses that counter that anxiety and those thoughts. And just ask GOD to help you. We dont have the power to break free compeltely from anxiety and fear w/o GOD, so just take a deep breath and give it to Him. Actively speak GOD's word against the thoughts and emotions just as Jesus Christ fought the devil in the wilderness. "it is written...."
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
Philippians 4:6-8 KJV
Philippians 4:8
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 KJV
You are not alone, lust and intrusive thoughts are a part of spiritual warfare, when you entice the thoughts it opens a door for the enemy to draw you deeper and deeper until you find yourself doing something you ought not be doing.
Cast the thoughts out without dwelling on them.
2 Corinthians 10:5-6
GOD bless prayer with you.
I have a few questions, have you been filled with the Holy Ghost since you have believed on Jesus Christ our Lord.
Secondly, that anxiety is not from GOD it is from spiritual wickedness in high places. Spend more time in prayer and reading the Word of GOD and find verses that counter that anxiety and those thoughts. And just ask GOD to help you. We dont have the power to break free compeltely from anxiety and fear w/o GOD, so just take a deep breath and give it to Him. Actively speak GOD's word against the thoughts and emotions just as Jesus Christ fought the devil in the wilderness. "it is written...."
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
Philippians 4:6-8 KJV
Philippians 4:8
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 KJV
You are not alone, lust and intrusive thoughts are a part of spiritual warfare, when you entice the thoughts it opens a door for the enemy to draw you deeper and deeper until you find yourself doing something you ought not be doing.
Cast the thoughts out without dwelling on them.
2 Corinthians 10:5-6
GOD bless prayer with you.
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Faithfulandtrue
Follow of Jesus Christ
Hmm sounds a little like ocd. People like me with ocd have irrational and unrelated fears. Such as if I do this or don't do that, this thing I fear will happen, but it is something that has nothing to do with it. It is not from God friend. Although we all struggle with sin, I advise anyone including myself to turn away from our sins, I don't think God will make you shorter as a punishment.
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Purge187
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I echo what Faithful said. As long as we live in these fallen vessels and in a fallen world, we will still have issues with our bodies and minds. Don't let the enemy convince you that OCD - if that's what it is - is somehow a punishment from God. Remember Paul and his "thorn."
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Oh, dear!!! Please don't be so hard on yourself! We all have these thoughts, sinful thoughts, and God doesn't want to punish us for them. He wants us to understand where they are coming from, why they are happening, and then take steps to better ourselves in His image! He wouldn't punish you for something that you feel like you cannot control. He knows you. He knows you are suffering. He wouldn't add to that by making you shorter.
I absolutely agree with everybody above. Read God's Word, talk to a professional, and join online support groups. I am recovering from Binge Eating Disorder, and the facebook group I joined has given me so much hope for my future. Because of that group, I no longer commit the sin of gluttony. Those thoughts were ever present in my mind, 24/7. Today I can honestly say I hardly ever have thoughts of bingeing. ♥ Good luck and please take care of your mental health.
I absolutely agree with everybody above. Read God's Word, talk to a professional, and join online support groups. I am recovering from Binge Eating Disorder, and the facebook group I joined has given me so much hope for my future. Because of that group, I no longer commit the sin of gluttony. Those thoughts were ever present in my mind, 24/7. Today I can honestly say I hardly ever have thoughts of bingeing. ♥ Good luck and please take care of your mental health.
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heliumskylark
Active Member
This kind of thinking, where you start to associate a particular action/event with an outcome that isn't logically related, isn't uncommon. In psychology it's called 'magical thinking'. I think the guilt you feel over your struggle with lust may well be the nudging of the Holy Spirit on your conscience, but the association with becoming shorter is something your own mind has come up with. I have a healthcare background but am not particularly well versed in mental health, so I don't really know why our minds come up with these thought patterns. Sometimes they can be triggered by a particularly stressful event. And the previous posters are right - they can be associated with various mental health conditions (including OCD and eating disorders), but they're not a diagnostic tool on its own; many, many people have irrational beliefs along similar lines and they're not mentally ill. If these thoughts are causing you a great deal of anxiety, you might find some CBT useful, either with a therapist or there are a number of quite good free online resources.
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