How do I stop my imagination from twisting scriptures?

Fast and pray. Cast your care upon Him.

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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Don't stop it completely, simply rejoice you have an active imagination AND also rejoice that you can tell the difference between conjecture and more soundly based conclusions. You might tag some such ideas for further exploration or you might simply set them aside after looking at them once, like you would with a comic book you happened to read.

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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There is no private interpretation. So you use the Blood of Jesus. In fact just the opposite is true, we are to be of one mind and one accord.

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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It's hard to say without more specific information. It's possible God is showing you something and you rejoice in the knowledge, but then the devil comes and makes you feel guilty for thinking you know something.

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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It is very interesting that the Bible tells us to do certain things. But, it does not tell us how to do certain things. For example:
2 Corinthians 10:5-7 King James Version (KJV)
"5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"

So,in 2 Corinthians 10:,it does not say how to cast out one's imaginations.
The same thing goes for us single Christian males. for another example Proverbs 18 :22 says:

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing And obtains favor from the LORD.( King James Bible) Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing , and obtaineth favour of the LORD."

But,we are not taught how to impress a christain woman,in order to find a wife,hence the dilemma.
Single Christian men,who have never been married ,must wonder about this. I am sure.

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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I've told quite a few people about the Warfare Prayer by Victor Matthews. You can find it online. Years ago it helped me with panic attacks.... You may want to read the prayer every time you're attacked. It's based on scripture and very powerful. Hope this helps!

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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Have you been to a psychiatrist for a diagnosis? It sounds like you are dealing with something significant that could use medical/professional help. I myself deal with two mental illnesses and prayer and scripture gets me only so far. You don't need to suffer like this... get some help!

FightTheFlesh said:

I'll read a scripture and my imagination will twist what I'm reading and sometimes my mind connects dots and then tries to make me feel like i found out something other people don't know. It will scare me for a moment but then i have to constantly tell myself that the thoughts or imagination is lying to me and it always takes a dark twist and makes a seemingly positive scripture into something fearful. How do I conquer this? I've been through so much and really strange things have happened to me and I'm just tired of having to battle lies all the time.

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I decided a long, long time ago that my goal should be to know God like other people in the past have known him, and NOT to try uncover new truths that people had missed. It is plenty hard enough already to understand what people in the past understood (e.g., the apostles). Did I even understand Truth as well as the writers of Scripture? <insert laughter here> I would do exceedingly well if I simply tried to understand how the original Bible book readers/listeners would have understood the passages. This is a very good goal and keeps a person from wandering off the path going the right direction. It requires reading a bit about the culture (e.g., in a commentary for the book you are reading) and doubles for giving a person the big picture (purpose) of the chapters and paragraphs. "What is God trying to tell people here?" Having a Study Bible with introductions to each book and notes on many of the verses is also very helpful for staying grounded.

Really understanding Scripture requires experiencing what Scripture talks about. You can ask God for such experiences, although when one is being obedient to the Lord's commands as revealed in Scripture you'll probably get more than enough of that automatically.

Lastly, mentally fight to eject thoughts you don't want to dwell on from your mind and/or try to replace them with better thoughts.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:8-9, 1984 NIV)

Start praying to God to get certain thoughts out of your mind, recite memorized verses, and so forth. I did this for years before seeing any effect, but eventually it did come to work very well. Pray regularly for God to give you a disciplined mind so you can control what you think about, and to experience more of His mind (it is no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you—Galatians 2:20; also see 1 Corinthians 2:16).

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
(2 Timothy 1:7, 1982 NKJV). Sound mind can also be translated as discipline or self-discipline.

I agree on praying for a sound mind. Also the transforming of your mind to have the mibd of Christ. I think if you're wondering if you have a new interpretation then check out the commentaries to see if anyone else had the same idea. Also maybe do some research online. This is a good way to check yourself but you can also try testing by sharing (if you feel comfortable) your interpretations (maybe just one or two) and seeing what others think.

I do pray that you grow in all knowledge and spiritual understanding and that the peace, wisdom and understanding of Christ richly indwell you so you may know his will for your life. Be strong in the faith.

joshua 1 9 said:

There is no private interpretation.

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Really? Have you not read any of the posts on these forums? So many different interpretations of scripture / Gods words.