Hello, my name is Zack and I am a christian and I struggle with really bad thoughts. I have posted here before and I need help please. I am struggling with my salvation and it's because I feel like I'm not resting in Jesus because I keep fighting my thoughts and I am scared because I always doubt my salvation because of these thoughts, my thoughts are terrible and I would appreciate prayer please for my salvation and for me to look to Jesus. God bless you everyone and Jesus is Lord.
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Salvation
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Hi Zack, the bad news is this, what you are going through is anything but fun or easy. In fact, it's tiring, painful and awful most of the time
However, the good news is, doing battle against such thoughts is what we Christians do .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5. In fact, it's because you 'are' a Christian that you're bothered so much by them to begin with (so keep that in mind).The truth is, we Christians have an enemy who hates us because He hates the One who loves us and saved us. This is the same enemy who lied to and deceived our first parents, and he's still doing the same things to us today. First a bad/dark/horrible thought enters your mind, then Satan tries to convince you that "real" Christians don't have such thoughts, therefore, you must not be a real Christian, right?
Wrong
God knew what He was getting into when He saved you, and He did so anyway, so nothing that's happening to you now, no horrible thought that ever comes into your mind, is a surprise to Him
I know it's tough, and I know it can seem like the stream of bad thoughts will never end, but if you do what the Bible tells us to do .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-17 (as well 1 John 1:9 .. if you believe you've lingered on the thoughts for too long and they've become sinful), Satan will eventually back away from you for a time.
*(sometimes the thoughts just keep coming, so you have to keep resisting them, taking them captive and giving them over to Christ to deal with again and again for as long as you need to .. or asking forgiveness for them whenever necessary, and He will forgive you again and again, just like He promised us He would)
The final piece that will turn this HUGE problem into a very little one for you most of the time will require some time, effort and commitment on your part. You need to empty your mind of all the garbage up there and fill it with something FAR better, the word of God (which is best and most effectively done through Scripture memorization).
It is a lot of work, but the spiritual benefits you will reap from it (along with ending your horrible thought-life) is well worth the time and effort it takes. If you'd like help getting started, just PM me as I would be happy to help!
Praying for you!
--David
p.s. - when these horrible thoughts occur, remember that the One who saved you in the first place has promised to grow you up in Christlikeness and see you through this life to Glory .. Philippians 1:6, 2:13; Hebrews 7:25. He, in fact, loves you so very much that He chose to come here and die that horrible death on the Cross in your place so that He would not have to live out eternity without you (IOW, He is for you, even with your terrible thought-life .. Romans 8:31).
So know what He says and then trust Him at His word .. e.g. John 3:16; John 5:24; John 20:31; Romans 8:1; 1 John 5:13, always listening to His voice, no matter how loudly the voice of the enemy is attempting to get you to miss the Lord's still small voice. And always remember that when the confusion of your terrible thought-life sets in/seems relentless, and the message you are hearing doesn't really make sense to you, that it's not God who is speaking to you, because we also know that He is not the Author of confusion, but of peace
.. 1 Corinthians 14:33.
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Could the fear itself be the cause and source of the evil thoughts...? Like a vicious cycle, or circle, that you can't seem to get out of...?
If the fear is the source, what might help you with that...? Instead of talking about your evil thoughts, maybe you could talk about your fears, and if any of us can help you with your fears, you can test it, and see if that has any effect on your evil thoughts maybe...?
Just a thought anyway...
Might want to talk to the Lord about your fears also, and see if you hear anything back like a counseling voice, and see if that can help you as well...
And, as some others have suggested, changing your environment and what your exposed to (to good, holy, postive things) might help or have an effect on them as well...
Praying...
God Bless!
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We are safe in the Lord's hands. It helps to lead a righteous life. That way Satan doesn't have a lot of ammunition to use against us.
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praying for you Zack i myself have these kinda of thoughts , i went to my dr i got some medication for it and it helped i have since been diagnosed with OCD the medication dont take it all away but it can help maybe see your dr about this first also use the Armour of God its in the bible
Ephesians 4:
also maybe talk to your pastor as well
Ephesians 4:
also maybe talk to your pastor as well
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I haven't been to church in a long time but I have sometimes watched a sermon from my church online but my thoughts are so bad and it's hard for me to even focus in church. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.
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Thank you very very much for your reply, it means everything to me and I really need to keep my eyes on Jesus.Hi Zack, the bad news is this, what you are going through is anything but fun or easy. In fact, it's tiring, painful and awful most of the time
The truth is, we Christians have an enemy who hates us because He hates the One who loves us and saved us. This is the same enemy who lied to and deceived our first parents, and he's still doing the same things to us today. First a bad/dark/horrible thought enters your mind, then Satan tries to convince you that "real" Christians don't have such thoughts, therefore, you must not be a real Christian, right?
Wrong
God knew what He was getting into when He saved you, and He did so anyway, so nothing that's happening to you now, no horrible thought that ever comes into your mind, is a surprise to Him
I know it's tough, and I know it can seem like the stream of bad thoughts will never end, but if you do what the Bible tells us to do .. e.g. 2 Corinthians 10:5; 1 Peter 5:8-9; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-17 (as well 1 John 1:9 .. if you believe you've lingered on the thoughts for too long and they've become sinful), Satan will eventually back away from you for a time.
*(sometimes the thoughts just keep coming, so you have to keep resisting them, taking them captive and giving them over to Christ to deal with again and again for as long as you need to .. or asking forgiveness for them whenever necessary, and He will forgive you again and again, just like He promised us He would)
The final piece that will turn this HUGE problem into a very little one for you most of the time will require some time, effort and commitment on your part. You need to empty your mind of all the garbage up there and fill it with something FAR better, the word of God (which is best and most effectively done through Scripture memorization).
It is a lot of work, but the spiritual benefits you will reap from it (along with ending your horrible thought-life) is well worth the time and effort it takes. If you'd like help getting started, just PM me as I would be happy to help!
Praying for you!
--David
p.s. - when these horrible thoughts occur, remember that the One who saved you in the first place has promised to grow you up in Christlikeness and see you through this life to Glory .. Philippians 1:6, 2:13; Hebrews 7:25. He, in fact, loves you so very much that He chose to come here and die that horrible death on the Cross in your place so that He would not have to live out eternity without you (IOW, He is for you, even with your terrible thought-life .. Romans 8:31).
So know what He says and then trust Him at His word .. e.g. John 3:16; John 5:24; John 20:31; Romans 8:1; 1 John 5:13, always listening to His voice, no matter how loudly the voice of the enemy is attempting to get you to miss the Lord's still small voice. And always remember that when the confusion of your terrible thought-life sets in/seems relentless, and the message you are hearing doesn't really make sense to you, that it's not God who is speaking to you, because we also know that He is not the Author of confusion, but of peace
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Job3315
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I asked because when I read your post I felt like I was at the shore being dragged from one wave to the other and it reminded me of the book of James when he mentions waves.
Churches are great for teaching, but also they provide a spiritual covering. Assuming you are going to a Christian church and that God placed you in church, your torment could be because of desobedience. Sometimes because of our hurts or mentality we stay away from churches, but sometimes we have to go beyond our fears and desilusions and do what God is asking us to do because at the end its not about listening to what the Pastoe said but resting in what God commanded us to do.
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Thank you for replying, you make some great points and I agree with you that the Holy Spirit is with me. I am just terrified of not being saved because I really struggle praying and I feel like because of that I don't have a true relationship with Jesus. Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior and I love Him a lot. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.Hello brother Zack. It is good that you feel convictions about these thoughts. It is evidence that you are listening to the Holy Spirit speak to you. Now as long as you don’t indulge in these thoughts then you don’t have anything to worry about. It is normal for us even as Christians to have these kind of thoughts of temptation. Sometimes they’re really terrible and troubling thoughts but they are uncontrollable. satan does this to trick us into feeling guilt hoping that we will be too ashamed to turn to God. he wants us to abandon our hope in Christ. I’ve had some terrible thoughts come into my head even at church and I used to feel the same way. satan wants us to think that we are terrible people and we cannot be a Christian. Don’t pay any attention to those thoughts. As soon as they appear just say GET OUT OF HERE SATAN!! and don’t think on them anymore. Don’t allow yourself to indulge in these thoughts because that can be damaging. These thoughts are often manifested by the thins we are subjected to in life. Movies, music, Internet, conversations, etc so try to remove these types of things from your life. Over time these thoughts will fade away but never be completely gone. Pastor Greg Laurie said the He has experienced these kind of thoughts also in church and said basically what I just said. So be happy that the Holy Spirit is working in you and be confident because the scriptures say He is faithful to finish what He has begun in you. God bless.
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That's possible but I don't think it's because of disobedience because I have these thoughts even at church. I just need to rest in Jesus. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.
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First things first. OP have you been diagnosed with OCD by a psychologist or psychiatrist?
If you have not meeting with a professional and getting an asessment is your first step.
If it turns out you do have OCD then getting treatment from a liscensed counselor who has experience treating OCD is the next step.
Lastly in the early stages I would not go to a church for getting help with mental health issues, as they’re often clueless.
Saying that what’s going on with you is due to disobedience is proof of this.
If you have not meeting with a professional and getting an asessment is your first step.
If it turns out you do have OCD then getting treatment from a liscensed counselor who has experience treating OCD is the next step.
Lastly in the early stages I would not go to a church for getting help with mental health issues, as they’re often clueless.
Saying that what’s going on with you is due to disobedience is proof of this.
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Mari17
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You have received a lot of well-meaning advice on here, but some of it is not applicable to OCD. The person with OCD is so focused on the fear of thinking bad thoughts that their mind purposely keeps bringing up the "bad" thoughts even though they don't mean them. It's like the person who compulsively hand washes even though their hands aren't dirty. They're just so afraid of their hands being dirty that they can't stop washing. Your mind will continue to bring you these fears as long as you are afraid of them. The key is to stop reacting to the thoughts in fear. Of course, you can't control your emotions, but you can control your actions. So even if you feel fearful, you move forward with your daily activities without doing compulsions (that includes even mental compulsions like ruminating). You basically pretend you're not afraid. You feel afraid that your salvation is on shaky ground, but you have to act in accordance with what you know is true rather than what you feel is true. You know you are saved (even if you feel like you don't know it right now), so you basically pretend confidence in your salvation, refusing to let yourself do things like keep asking over and over to be saved or researching or analyzing. I've read many of your posts on here so I think you know these things already, but I know it can really get tiring and discouraging when OCD will not let up. Keep doing the things you know you need to do in order to fight it. It might not feel like anything is happening, but if you persist over and over in treating the OCD as OCD, it does make a difference. If you need more encouragement or resources feel free to pm me and/or I can post links to some of the resources I've found helpful.
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Thank you very much for posting this, it means a lot to me and it helps. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.
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Terrible thoughts are nothing to worry about as long as you don’t indulge in them or act on them. By indulging I mean allowing yourself to dwell on those thoughts. I know many Christians who have had the same problem. Even Paster Greg Laurie admits he’s had them and they are normal. Just squash these thoughts as soon as they enter your mind by thinking about something else. When this happens to me I just think to myself GET OUT OF HERE SATAN!! And try to think about a good Christian song or anything to redirect my focus on God. These kind of thoughts will not have any bearing on your salvation or your level of devotion my friend. Personally I believe they are just tricks from the evil one trying to discourage us. So just stay calm don’t worry and keep your focus on Christ and you will be just fine. God bless
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Thank you very much, I agree that the thoughts are just tricks. God bless you and Jesus is Lord.Terrible thoughts are nothing to worry about as long as you don’t indulge in them or act on them. By indulging I mean allowing yourself to dwell on those thoughts. I know many Christians who have had the same problem. Even Paster Greg Laurie admits he’s had them and they are normal. Just squash these thoughts as soon as they enter your mind by thinking about something else. When this happens to me I just think to myself GET OUT OF HERE SATAN!! And try to think about a good Christian song or anything to redirect my focus on God. These kind of thoughts will not have any bearing on your salvation or your level of devotion my friend. Personally I believe they are just tricks from the evil one trying to discourage us. So just stay calm don’t worry and keep your focus on Christ and you will be just fine. God bless
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