My Brother Was Exposed

You're right to be concerned, but also take solace in the fact that since COVID first hit, the doctors and the scientists have made Himalayan strides in understanding this virus - so while still a threat, we KNOW this virus a LOT better now.

The initial danger was in the unknown.

there's only one thing that turns anxiety into confidence - the right scripture from God's Word.

but there's so many that would help; it would help to perceive what to offer if you could share whether or not your brother is a reborn believer; would you feel it's OK to share this??

Introverted1293 said:

My twin brother was exposed to the covid-19. There was somebody in his class that had the virus. This is very scary for me.
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Hello Introverted. Even if someone in the class had the virus that does not mean your brother will have caught it. We'll pray all will be well.

God Bless

thank you for sharing!

if you can change your focus, you can still the anxiety. one way to do this is to sit down with your Bible (better yet a computer-based Bible like the free E-Sword) and start looking up scriptures to share with your brother about salvation - not just missing hell, but the peace, joy, and strength to endure and overcome that's available. putting your focus on God's Words of life will get your focus off of the worst that could happen, and your brother's biggest threat isn't covid.

you can also focus off of the worst that could happen by establishing a faith prayer to repeat; here's a suggestion:

Thank you Father God that You love my brother more than i do, and that You want him to be saved more than i do. i make myself available as a vessel for you to use in drawing my brother to You; and will focus on Your Word to incline my ear to Your still, small, voice. i trust You to protect him in the meantime. Thank you for having mercy on us both! Amen

(Isa 26:3) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

(Jer 17:7) Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
(Jer 17:8) For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

(Deu 31:8) It is the LORD who goes before you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

(Psa 91:1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
(Psa 91:2) I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
(Psa 91:3) Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
(Psa 91:4) He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
(Psa 91:5) Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
(Psa 91:6) Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
(Psa 91:7) A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
(Psa 91:8) Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
(Psa 91:9) Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
(Psa 91:10) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
(Psa 91:11) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
(Psa 91:12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
(Psa 91:13) Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
(Psa 91:14) Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
(Psa 91:15) He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
(Psa 91:16) With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

Introverted1293 said:

But the reason why I'm putting this in the advice column is because I'm going to ask for your advice about this fearsome news that I got. I have anxiety disorder and I cannot help but compulse and worry about him. My biggest fear is that he is going to die.

I know that I'm making this a little bit about me. But sometimes I can't help it.

How do I stop worrying about him? How can I have some peace when my brother was exposed to a deadly virus?

I am so scared and I'm probably going to lose a lot of sleep worrying about him.

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Is God not good in death and in life? Is He not in control of things? Can you not trust Him?

Is God in control of you? Do you give up yourself in submission to Him throughout each day? This is God's way to peace. He fills us with Himself, with the peace that He is, as we yield ourselves to Him as living sacrifices. Is this you?

If you're afraid, your fear isn't coming from God; it's coming from you. God is peace - the peace that passes all understanding. Give God control of you; submit yourself to His will and way, and then wait in faith in His promise that He will do as He said He would do when we yield ourselves to Him: transform us. It won't happen all at once, but just like your hair, or fingernails, or the tree in your front yard, God will grow in you imperceptibly His character, His mind, and His conduct. He waits to do this change in you until you start persistently and consistently yielding yourself to His control. God can't fill you with Himself when you're full of yourself, right?

Lord, You breathed out the words of promise - "He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we are healed." You are God, who keeps every promise, who gives justice to the poor and oppressed and food to the hungry. You free the prisoners and open the eyes of the blind; You lift the burdens from those bent down beneath their loads. For Lord, you love good men. Keep Intro's brother safe from sickness and harm in Jesus name.

Lord, I lift Intro up to you for your blessing, cleansing, and help. I thank you that you came to redeem Intro. You are God of creation; who bears the earth's huge pillars on your shoulders and sustains all things by the power of your Word. With You, Lord, nothing can be impossible. We see in our hearts your pierced hands and feet, and you stooped to suffer in place of the sinner. The grandeur of your sacrifice is greater than we can imagine. Lord you give the hopeless ones a new hope, and he who has known despair, can know joy. Lord, I ask that your holy spirit would strengthen Intro's spirit so that his faith will not weaken or become a slave to doubt and despondency. Let Intro come to see you and know you more than ever. Create in my brother Intro a mighty faith. Give Intro a new garment of praise. Lord, I ask that you would also help Intro keep alert and watchful for the enemy who seeks to prevent men of God from getting stronger. Bless my brother with Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding. Mold and shape his heart and use him for your glory. In Jesus' name. Amen.


Coping Statements For Christians With OCD and Scrupulosity – ACCFS
Coping Statements For Christians With OCD and Scrupulosity
Dealing with Doubt and Uncertainty

1. Faith is not the absence of feeling uncertain. Faith is going forward through the uncertainty.
2. OCD wants me to believe that uncertainty and doubt are dangerous. While uncertainty is uncomfortable, it is not dangerous, and I can tolerate it.
3. My faith is what I believe, not what I feel.
4. Feelings are not facts. God's Word is fact - regardless of how I feel.
5. OCD will always bring up another What if . . . ? Trying to nail down all of the What if . . . ? questions will lead me down a path of never feeling good enough or certain enough.
6. I can have faith and still feel uncertain. Mark 9:24, “…Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”
7. God loves me completely, even when my feelings are uncertain and clouded by doubt.
8. My peace with God is not based on my feelings. Rather, as Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” Therefore, I am at peace with God because of Jesus whether my feelings agree or not.

Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts

1. Even though they feel real, intrusive thoughts say nothing about my true character.
2. The goal of the intrusive thoughts is to shock and scare me so I try to suppress or “fix” them. My goal is to identify them as “intrusive thoughts” and move on instead of fighting with them.
3. Having an intrusive thought does not make it more likely for me to act on it.
4. God understands that intrusive thoughts are distressing to me. He understands OCD better than anyone!
5. OCD wants me to believe that worry, anxiety, and compulsions will protect me spiritually. That is all part of the trick OCD wants me to believe.
6. OCD wants me to fight with my thoughts and try to control and suppress them. OCD knows that by getting distressed and fighting with the thoughts I will refill the “gas tank” in the obsessional engine and keep it running.
7. Trying to prevent myself from ever having certain thoughts, images, and feelings only makes them worse.

Tips on Moving Forward

1. One of OCD’s biggest tricks is asking me the question, “What if this fear isn’t from OCD and it really is a serious issue?” Whenever this thought (or one similar) comes, I will treat it as OCD and not try to figure it out.
2. I pray to You, my God, for grace and strength to accept/move on from intrusive thoughts without figuring them out.
3. My goal is to “starve” OCD by not giving meaning to intrusive thoughts or doing compulsions.
4. I have two choices: (1) to chase after a feeling of certainty that never comes or (2) to choose to move forward through the uncertainty.
5. My goal is to focus on doing the tasks that I need to be doing in the present moment (studying, cooking, talking to a friend, working) instead of focusing on trying to figure out the uncertainty or fear.
6. I need to focus on the present moment and allow my thoughts to come and go.
7. Trying to figure it all out only makes it worse.
8. God understands that I don’t understand.

Introverted1293 said:

My twin brother was exposed to the covid-19. There was somebody in his class that had the virus. This is very scary for me.

Please, if you are willing, pray for him and his family. He has four kids, and he is raising them all by himself.

But the reason why I'm putting this in the advice column is because I'm going to ask for your advice about this fearsome news that I got. I have anxiety disorder and I cannot help but compulse and worry about him. My biggest fear is that he is going to die.

I know that I'm making this a little bit about me. But sometimes I can't help it.

How do I stop worrying about him? How can I have some peace when my brother was exposed to a deadly virus?

I am so scared and I'm probably going to lose a lot of sleep worrying about him.

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If he does not have a pre-existing condition that makes him more vulnerable to what the virus can do (such as diabetes - I'm sure there are others that I don't know about), then that can provide a measure of peace.

Even if he does, you can still pray to the good and merciful God we worship for his health and for his kids.

Put all of your trust in Jesus.

Hand over to Him, Our Saviour, all your worries and concerns. Lay them at His feet.

God bless you my friend.

Introverted1293 said:

My twin brother was exposed to the covid-19. There was somebody in his class that had the virus. This is very scary for me.

Please, if you are willing, pray for him and his family. He has four kids, and he is raising them all by himself.

But the reason why I'm putting this in the advice column is because I'm going to ask for your advice about this fearsome news that I got. I have anxiety disorder and I cannot help but compulse and worry about him. My biggest fear is that he is going to die.

I know that I'm making this a little bit about me. But sometimes I can't help it.

How do I stop worrying about him? How can I have some peace when my brother was exposed to a deadly virus?

I am so scared and I'm probably going to lose a lot of sleep worrying about him.

Click to expand...

Good morning Jesse!

were you able to get some sleep last night?

When you start getting anxious over an issue, try casting everything regarding it into God's care, He has promised that if your mind and heart is focused on Him rather than on the things troubling you, He will keep you in perfect peace

Isaiah 26:3