Freedom from OCD!

Masterpiece · Apr 6, 2019

Mari17 said:
Yes, saying no to OCD is always scary, but it's worth it in the end!!

I MIGHT have OCD. I feel like i am ashamed of Jesus. I feel like if i don't preach in the middle of class, im ashamed of him. If i dont witness to all of my Unbelieving friends every time we talk, Im ashamed of him. I feel this shame is in my mind. Ill do ALL of these things that i listed below, but probably only if God told me to do these things. I fear that ill say something super deep and ill just confuse unbelievers because they wont understand. I wake up, go throughout my day, and go to bed feeling this way. have u ever felt this way? If so, how do i STOP? COuld i posibly be ashamed Of Christ? I have no Problem whatsoever witnessing normally to others. Just talking casually about Him. But I fear that i will be called a wierdo if ALL i talk about is Jesus. DOes Jesus WANT us to talk about him to unbelievers 24/7? Or does he want us to take it slow, one step at a time. I dont want people to run away because of my own "weirdness", but i dont care if i talk normally and someone leaves because they reject Jesus. 2 BIG differences. This has been Plauging me for a while now. Im constantly reminded of Jesus saying if your ashamed of me, Ill be ashamed of you. Which has really makes me feel like Its too late for me. I remeber when God told me in August 2018 "You are made in my image. You are my masterpiece" but ive been so messed up lately i dont see how i still am. I dont live for him like i should. I dont have Love for him like i should. i feel like im no longer his Masterpiece. Please help me

Mari17 · Apr 7, 2019

Masterpiece said:
I MIGHT have OCD. I feel like i am ashamed of Jesus. I feel like if i don't preach in the middle of class, im ashamed of him. If i dont witness to all of my Unbelieving friends every time we talk, Im ashamed of him. I feel this shame is in my mind. Ill do ALL of these things that i listed below, but probably only if God told me to do these things. I fear that ill say something super deep and ill just confuse unbelievers because they wont understand. I wake up, go throughout my day, and go to bed feeling this way. have u ever felt this way? If so, how do i STOP? COuld i posibly be ashamed Of Christ? I have no Problem whatsoever witnessing normally to others. Just talking casually about Him. But I fear that i will be called a wierdo if ALL i talk about is Jesus. DOes Jesus WANT us to talk about him to unbelievers 24/7? Or does he want us to take it slow, one step at a time. I dont want people to run away because of my own "weirdness", but i dont care if i talk normally and someone leaves because they reject Jesus. 2 BIG differences. This has been Plauging me for a while now. Im constantly reminded of Jesus saying if your ashamed of me, Ill be ashamed of you. Which has really makes me feel like Its too late for me. I remeber when God told me in August 2018 "You are made in my image. You are my masterpiece" but ive been so messed up lately i dont see how i still am. I dont live for him like i should. I dont have Love for him like i should. i feel like im no longer his Masterpiece. Please help me

This sounds like it could be OCD. OCD tends to take a normal activity (for example, witnessing to unbelievers) and exaggerates it, making us feel like we have to go way above and beyond what is reasonable, even to the point of weirdness. Not that we don't sometimes, as Christians, do things that unbelievers might not understand, but there's a big difference between feeling strongly that we ought to do something and doing it versus acting strangely because our OCD is provoking us out of fear. If something feels weird and obsessive, it very often is. It sounds like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to live and behave perfectly, perhaps forgetting that following God is a process and that He helps us to grow in Him and become more and more like Him rather than expecting us to achieve everything on our own. Your job, then, is to recognize where OCD is asking you to do something, and to actually NOT do those things, so that you learn to be controlled only by God and not by OCD. Of course, the line isn't always clear-cut, but part of learning to live in victory over OCD is learning that it's OK to not know all of the answers, but rather to just do your best and trust God to keep leading you and showing you the way.

JesusisKing77 · Apr 9, 2019

Masterpiece said:
I MIGHT have OCD. I feel like i am ashamed of Jesus. I feel like if i don't preach in the middle of class, im ashamed of him. If i dont witness to all of my Unbelieving friends every time we talk, Im ashamed of him. I feel this shame is in my mind. Ill do ALL of these things that i listed below, but probably only if God told me to do these things. I fear that ill say something super deep and ill just confuse unbelievers because they wont understand. I wake up, go throughout my day, and go to bed feeling this way. have u ever felt this way? If so, how do i STOP? COuld i posibly be ashamed Of Christ? I have no Problem whatsoever witnessing normally to others. Just talking casually about Him. But I fear that i will be called a wierdo if ALL i talk about is Jesus. DOes Jesus WANT us to talk about him to unbelievers 24/7? Or does he want us to take it slow, one step at a time. I dont want people to run away because of my own "weirdness", but i dont care if i talk normally and someone leaves because they reject Jesus. 2 BIG differences. This has been Plauging me for a while now. Im constantly reminded of Jesus saying if your ashamed of me, Ill be ashamed of you. Which has really makes me feel like Its too late for me. I remeber when God told me in August 2018 "You are made in my image. You are my masterpiece" but ive been so messed up lately i dont see how i still am. I dont live for him like i should. I dont have Love for him like i should. i feel like im no longer his Masterpiece. Please help me

That’s exactly how I am!!!! I would feel I have to add everybody and post about Jesus on social media,one time it got so bad I had to write “Jesus loves you” on every single desk I sat on ,or else I felt I was denying Him,I even got in trouble for that and I bet people thought I was weird,and instead of getting them closer to God I might’ve pushed them away I don’t know I’m such a horrible person,but what you say describes exactly my problem,well it’s not as bad anymore but trust me it was so bad I felt pressured to do things every second of every day.Right now I’m a avoiding anything that feels I have to or else,but now I feel like I’m further away from God,ik scared to genuinely approach Hik for fear of “getting stuck”(having to stay bowed down in prayer until it feels ok to leave or until I finished the prayers perfectly,this could range from 5 minutes to not kidding one time I did 3 hours)
I’m afraid to read the Bible,I’m afraid to look at sermons,I’m afraid to listen to Christian music,the only way I don’t feel so afraid of God is when I see Him trough the kind acts that people do,it warms my heart up and makes me happy.well sorry for the long rant,it’s just you described EXACTLY how I was,and still am,but not as bad.feel free to pm me anytime as I’ve been asking for somebody else that has my same struggles,so that we can share them and give advice.

Masterpiece · Apr 10, 2019

JesusisKing77 said:
That’s exactly how I am!!!! I would feel I have to add everybody and post about Jesus on social media,one time it got so bad I had to write “Jesus loves you” on every single desk I sat on ,or else I felt I was denying Him,I even got in trouble for that and I bet people thought I was weird,and instead of getting them closer to God I might’ve pushed them away I don’t know I’m such a horrible person,but what you say describes exactly my problem,well it’s not as bad anymore but trust me it was so bad I felt pressured to do things every second of every day.Right now I’m a avoiding anything that feels I have to or else,but now I feel like I’m further away from God,ik scared to genuinely approach Hik for fear of “getting stuck”(having to stay bowed down in prayer until it feels ok to leave or until I finished the prayers perfectly,this could range from 5 minutes to not kidding one time I did 3 hours)
I’m afraid to read the Bible,I’m afraid to look at sermons,I’m afraid to listen to Christian music,the only way I don’t feel so afraid of God is when I see Him trough the kind acts that people do,it warms my heart up and makes me happy.well sorry for the long rant,it’s just you described EXACTLY how I was,and still am,but not as bad.feel free to pm me anytime as I’ve been asking for somebody else that has my same struggles,so that we can share them and give advice.

Thanks for replying. I am literally struggling with this as we speak. I feel abused with the thought of if im going to go "all out" for Jesus then i have to be "weird" with it. If i don't do it in a weird way then im Ashamed of him. I also spend all day focusing on this that, instead of doing my homework, I pray and my homework doesn't get done when it should. But while i pray, I feel like Im just doing this because i dont wanna go to hell, not because i want to truly be unashamed of Jesus. I feel i have to pray at random times out loud at school or im ashamed of him. Im literally am willing to go "All out, Radical" for Jesus and willingly push the whole world from me, But ONLY if thats what God wants, but If the WHOLE world looks at u as an outsider, how could they accept the Gospel from you? We should make the gospel appealing to people (Titus 2:10) not have people running and separating themselves from us because we chose to make the Gospel unatravtive to people because we try to shove in their face (This does not mean to water down the gospel). There is a right time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Ask God to give you the right to to do these things. I Spend probably hours saying things like "I repent" "I chose you" "I dont care what others think" over and over again and all the while I still feel like im ashamed of him. And when I truly do feel like i repented, i feel a little better. But then Im reminded of this, then i go back to Praying and asking God to take this away for probably an hour or so. Its a constant battle that is unlike any other temptation i have ever experienced. But to encourage you I want to look back on all God has done for you. Now I dont know your situation, but I know how God has been with me in the past (although i Im not 100% sure hes will me still). Would God do ____ and _____ for you just to leave you in the end? I remember i Used to have doubts that God was even real. I cried out to him, continued on, and I think I had hope. Eventually, I forgot all about that doubt. I would constantly remind myself of James 1:2. The word "Various" in this verse could also me "Multicolored" "Many colors" which really helped me because my situation was so unusual. But God God me through it, and my Faith was stronger in the End.

What to do:
1) Read these verses: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Titus 2:10, James 1:2, 1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 1:7.

2) Although we may feel God isnt with us, we need to muster a Musterd seed amout of faith (haha Get it?) When we are in situations to act compulsive we need to ask God to give us peace about doing this. When I first started Getting serious about God I Had peace about things he wanted, and discomfort about things he didnt want. Unfortuently i dont feel that (at least i dont think i do) anymore, but that needs to be our goal. Example: "Should i witness to my boss God? If this is your will please show me." *God gives You Discomfort about doing it* "Okay thanks God. Keep leading me"

3) If You do get peace about doing it, dont Mix OCD in with Gods will. Talk casually and normal. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on. We are responsible to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good news. Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ has done for them. Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine. Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are ready to hear it. Tell others. If they Reject you, dont force it on them. Just pray for them. God May tell You to witness to someone, but the seed that you planted will not grow until God Grows it (1 Corinthians 3:6) So dont get discouraged if you are rejected. Gods timing is perfect. No amount of witnessing to people will change a persons life unless the Holy Spirit works in those people. The Holy Spirit brings people to Christ. Not us.

4) DONT OBSESS. Its hard i Know (Im speaking to myself as well). God doesnt want us worrying about this all this time. This is a HUGE distraction from God. When we should be spending QUALITY time With God, We obsess. Thats not good. When we need to be producing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace, etc.) we worry about who's gonna be the next person we witness to. We need to be an EXAMPLE to others in our actions, and always be ready to tell others about Christ. In and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2) always ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the Hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). Overthinking makes things worse than they really are. We overexaggerate things. We add things that cause fear to us when in actuality our fears are completely over the top and are not even in the picture.

More tips:
1) Entertaining the thoughts that tell us "what will ___ think if I witnessed to them" actually catch us in a trap. We step on the trap (entertaing the thought) and are tangled us (worrying about what others think).
2) The Holy spirit doesnt say "Witness to ___ Or else you are ashamed of Jesus" in a Controling way. The Holy Spirit is Gentle and doesnt force you to do anything. The Holy Spirit COULD say somthing like that, but if the voice is Aggressive, then it is not God. Compulsion vs Conviction.

3) Dont Try to fight this with Mental or any other rituals. Dont Keep saying "I repent" a billion times until it feels "Just right," Say it and mean it (this goes for me as well). Or any other thing you do to make these feelings go away. Dont try to fight feelings or thoughts with feelings. It NEVER works.

4) Realize that these thoughts are completely consuming our lives. We worry about this non-stop. We dont watch TV, Do work, go outside, etc. because we are too busy obsessing.

5) We CANT overcome this on our own strength. We cant overpower this, control, contain this... So we HAVE to surrender it to God. Peter denied Jesus for a few reasons. Jesus warned him that He would deny him. But Peter said "I will not deny you" (Mat. 26:35). First I believe Peter had trust in his own strength, Not the Lord's. Then Jesus later told him to Pray so that he doesn't fall into temptation But instead, he fell asleep (Mat. 26:40-41). Then Unfortunately Peter Denied Jesus. Its the same with us. We NEED to listen to Jesus and ask him for his strength, and pray so that we too do not enter into temptation. That, added with faith and commitment we will be Good.

6) Ask God to Help you decern between OCD compulsions, and Holy Spirit Convictions. VERY IMPORTANT.

7)Find good Christian friends to help encourage you. If you dont know anyone maybe go to a local church. Talking to a Pastor about this is also a way to help you. ChristianChat is a great app.

I have a question. Why did You stop Asking Compulsive? Is it because you didnt want people to think youre wierd?

JesusisKing77 · Apr 10, 2019

Masterpiece said:
Thanks for replying. I am literally struggling with this as we speak. I feel abused with the thought of if im going to go "all out" for Jesus then i have to be "weird" with it. If i don't do it in a weird way then im Ashamed of him. I also spend all day focusing on this that, instead of doing my homework, I pray and my homework doesn't get done when it should. But while i pray, I feel like Im just doing this because i dont wanna go to hell, not because i want to truly be unashamed of Jesus. I feel i have to pray at random times out loud at school or im ashamed of him. Im literally am willing to go "All out, Radical" for Jesus and willingly push the whole world from me, But ONLY if thats what God wants, but If the WHOLE world looks at u as an outsider, how could they accept the Gospel from you? We should make the gospel appealing to people (Titus 2:10) not have people running and separating themselves from us because we chose to make the Gospel unatravtive to people because we try to shove in their face (This does not mean to water down the gospel). There is a right time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Ask God to give you the right to to do these things. I Spend probably hours saying things like "I repent" "I chose you" "I dont care what others think" over and over again and all the while I still feel like im ashamed of him. And when I truly do feel like i repented, i feel a little better. But then Im reminded of this, then i go back to Praying and asking God to take this away for probably an hour or so. Its a constant battle that is unlike any other temptation i have ever experienced. But to encourage you I want to look back on all God has done for you. Now I dont know your situation, but I know how God has been with me in the past (although i Im not 100% sure hes will me still). Would God do ____ and _____ for you just to leave you in the end? I remember i Used to have doubts that God was even real. I cried out to him, continued on, and I think I had hope. Eventually, I forgot all about that doubt. I would constantly remind myself of James 1:2. The word "Various" in this verse could also me "Multicolored" "Many colors" which really helped me because my situation was so unusual. But God God me through it, and my Faith was stronger in the End.

What to do:
1) Read these verses: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Titus 2:10, James 1:2, 1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 1:7.

2) Although we may feel God isnt with us, we need to muster a Musterd seed amout of faith (haha Get it?) When we are in situations to act compulsive we need to ask God to give us peace about doing this. When I first started Getting serious about God I Had peace about things he wanted, and discomfort about things he didnt want. Unfortuently i dont feel that (at least i dont think i do) anymore, but that needs to be our goal. Example: "Should i witness to my boss God? If this is your will please show me." *God gives You Discomfort about doing it* "Okay thanks God. Keep leading me"

3) If You do get peace about doing it, dont Mix OCD in with Gods will. Talk casually and normal. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on. We are responsible to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good news. Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ has done for them. Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine. Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are ready to hear it. Tell others. If they Reject you, dont force it on them. Just pray for them. God May tell You to witness to someone, but the seed that you planted will not grow until God Grows it (1 Corinthians 3:6) So dont get discouraged if you are rejected. Gods timing is perfect. No amount of witnessing to people will change a persons life unless the Holy Spirit works in those people. The Holy Spirit brings people to Christ. Not us.

4) DONT OBSESS. Its hard i Know (Im speaking to myself as well). God doesnt want us worrying about this all this time. This is a HUGE distraction from God. When we should be spending QUALITY time With God, We obsess. Thats not good. When we need to be producing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace, etc.) we worry about who's gonna be the next person we witness to. We need to be an EXAMPLE to others in our actions, and always be ready to tell others about Christ. In and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2) always ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the Hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). Overthinking makes things worse than they really are. We overexaggerate things. We add things that cause fear to us when in actuality our fears are completely over the top and are not even in the picture.

More tips:
1) Entertaining the thoughts that tell us "what will ___ think if I witnessed to them" actually catch us in a trap. We step on the trap (entertaing the thought) and are tangled us (worrying about what others think).
2) The Holy spirit doesnt say "Witness to ___ Or else you are ashamed of Jesus" in a Controling way. The Holy Spirit is Gentle and doesnt force you to do anything. The Holy Spirit COULD say somthing like that, but if the voice is Aggressive, then it is not God. Compulsion vs Conviction.

3) Dont Try to fight this with Mental or any other rituals. Dont Keep saying "I repent" a billion times until it feels "Just right," Say it and mean it (this goes for me as well). Or any other thing you do to make these feelings go away. Dont try to fight feelings or thoughts with feelings. It NEVER works.

4) Realize that these thoughts are completely consuming our lives. We worry about this non-stop. We dont watch TV, Do work, go outside, etc. because we are too busy obsessing.

5) We CANT overcome this on our own strength. We cant overpower this, control, contain this... So we HAVE to surrender it to God. Peter denied Jesus for a few reasons. Jesus warned him that He would deny him. But Peter said "I will not deny you" (Mat. 26:35). First I believe Peter had trust in his own strength, Not the Lord's. Then Jesus later told him to Pray so that he doesn't fall into temptation But instead, he fell asleep (Mat. 26:40-41). Then Unfortunately Peter Denied Jesus. Its the same with us. We NEED to listen to Jesus and ask him for his strength, and pray so that we too do not enter into temptation. That, added with faith and commitment we will be Good.

6) Ask God to Help you decern between OCD compulsions, and Holy Spirit Convictions. VERY IMPORTANT.

7)Find good Christian friends to help encourage you. If you dont know anyone maybe go to a local church. Talking to a Pastor about this is also a way to help you. ChristianChat is a great app.

I have a question. Why did You stop Asking Compulsive? Is it because you didnt want people to think youre wierd?

Thank you for taking your time to share the wya you cope with this,and also I don’t quite understand what you meant by stop asking compulsive,do you mean why I stopped doing the compulsions I talked about ?well I stopped because I realized I was doing it out of fear,and yea people tought I was wierd but but because I’m scared to of what they think of me it’s liek I have to prove to God I’m not ashamed,and yea I’ll definitely check out that app you talked about,thank you !

JesusisKing77 · Apr 10, 2019

Masterpiece said:
Thanks for replying. I am literally struggling with this as we speak. I feel abused with the thought of if im going to go "all out" for Jesus then i have to be "weird" with it. If i don't do it in a weird way then im Ashamed of him. I also spend all day focusing on this that, instead of doing my homework, I pray and my homework doesn't get done when it should. But while i pray, I feel like Im just doing this because i dont wanna go to hell, not because i want to truly be unashamed of Jesus. I feel i have to pray at random times out loud at school or im ashamed of him. Im literally am willing to go "All out, Radical" for Jesus and willingly push the whole world from me, But ONLY if thats what God wants, but If the WHOLE world looks at u as an outsider, how could they accept the Gospel from you? We should make the gospel appealing to people (Titus 2:10) not have people running and separating themselves from us because we chose to make the Gospel unatravtive to people because we try to shove in their face (This does not mean to water down the gospel). There is a right time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Ask God to give you the right to to do these things. I Spend probably hours saying things like "I repent" "I chose you" "I dont care what others think" over and over again and all the while I still feel like im ashamed of him. And when I truly do feel like i repented, i feel a little better. But then Im reminded of this, then i go back to Praying and asking God to take this away for probably an hour or so. Its a constant battle that is unlike any other temptation i have ever experienced. But to encourage you I want to look back on all God has done for you. Now I dont know your situation, but I know how God has been with me in the past (although i Im not 100% sure hes will me still). Would God do ____ and _____ for you just to leave you in the end? I remember i Used to have doubts that God was even real. I cried out to him, continued on, and I think I had hope. Eventually, I forgot all about that doubt. I would constantly remind myself of James 1:2. The word "Various" in this verse could also me "Multicolored" "Many colors" which really helped me because my situation was so unusual. But God God me through it, and my Faith was stronger in the End.

What to do:
1) Read these verses: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Titus 2:10, James 1:2, 1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 1:7.

2) Although we may feel God isnt with us, we need to muster a Musterd seed amout of faith (haha Get it?) When we are in situations to act compulsive we need to ask God to give us peace about doing this. When I first started Getting serious about God I Had peace about things he wanted, and discomfort about things he didnt want. Unfortuently i dont feel that (at least i dont think i do) anymore, but that needs to be our goal. Example: "Should i witness to my boss God? If this is your will please show me." *God gives You Discomfort about doing it* "Okay thanks God. Keep leading me"

3) If You do get peace about doing it, dont Mix OCD in with Gods will. Talk casually and normal. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on. We are responsible to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good news. Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ has done for them. Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine. Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are ready to hear it. Tell others. If they Reject you, dont force it on them. Just pray for them. God May tell You to witness to someone, but the seed that you planted will not grow until God Grows it (1 Corinthians 3:6) So dont get discouraged if you are rejected. Gods timing is perfect. No amount of witnessing to people will change a persons life unless the Holy Spirit works in those people. The Holy Spirit brings people to Christ. Not us.

4) DONT OBSESS. Its hard i Know (Im speaking to myself as well). God doesnt want us worrying about this all this time. This is a HUGE distraction from God. When we should be spending QUALITY time With God, We obsess. Thats not good. When we need to be producing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace, etc.) we worry about who's gonna be the next person we witness to. We need to be an EXAMPLE to others in our actions, and always be ready to tell others about Christ. In and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2) always ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the Hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). Overthinking makes things worse than they really are. We overexaggerate things. We add things that cause fear to us when in actuality our fears are completely over the top and are not even in the picture.

More tips:
1) Entertaining the thoughts that tell us "what will ___ think if I witnessed to them" actually catch us in a trap. We step on the trap (entertaing the thought) and are tangled us (worrying about what others think).
2) The Holy spirit doesnt say "Witness to ___ Or else you are ashamed of Jesus" in a Controling way. The Holy Spirit is Gentle and doesnt force you to do anything. The Holy Spirit COULD say somthing like that, but if the voice is Aggressive, then it is not God. Compulsion vs Conviction.

3) Dont Try to fight this with Mental or any other rituals. Dont Keep saying "I repent" a billion times until it feels "Just right," Say it and mean it (this goes for me as well). Or any other thing you do to make these feelings go away. Dont try to fight feelings or thoughts with feelings. It NEVER works.

4) Realize that these thoughts are completely consuming our lives. We worry about this non-stop. We dont watch TV, Do work, go outside, etc. because we are too busy obsessing.

5) We CANT overcome this on our own strength. We cant overpower this, control, contain this... So we HAVE to surrender it to God. Peter denied Jesus for a few reasons. Jesus warned him that He would deny him. But Peter said "I will not deny you" (Mat. 26:35). First I believe Peter had trust in his own strength, Not the Lord's. Then Jesus later told him to Pray so that he doesn't fall into temptation But instead, he fell asleep (Mat. 26:40-41). Then Unfortunately Peter Denied Jesus. Its the same with us. We NEED to listen to Jesus and ask him for his strength, and pray so that we too do not enter into temptation. That, added with faith and commitment we will be Good.

6) Ask God to Help you decern between OCD compulsions, and Holy Spirit Convictions. VERY IMPORTANT.

7)Find good Christian friends to help encourage you. If you dont know anyone maybe go to a local church. Talking to a Pastor about this is also a way to help you. ChristianChat is a great app.

I have a question. Why did You stop Asking Compulsive? Is it because you didnt want people to think youre wierd?

I also had the problem with praying and having to tell people about Jesus,”In a weird way.”The praying got in the way of my school work,sleep,eating,showering ,everything.I had to repeat long prayers until I said them perfectly,or else it didn’t count.Other times I had to read the Bible perfectly.It was exhausting.I had to wake up,say my Dailey prayers but I have to say them perfectly,this could take 40 minutes,sometimes even more and if I messed up I had to punish myself by doing it again ,(it took forever to finish)then when I ate I had to do it in a way it didn’t offend God,if that makes sense,and I couldn’t eat at some times,so I lost so much weight,I tought this was how you followed Christ,and I didn’t want to disappoint,I had to stay in the hot sun and pray until I did it right,I had to walk a certain way(I say had because back then it was supppeeeerrr bad)I felt the only way to Jesus was by denying everything confidentes worldy,and obey these toughts 100%,now after much medication and therapy secciones,I don’t have much of these compulsions anymore,now it’s just I worry about promising things to God and not being able to follow up that promise ,(I would be forced to promise to never eat a certain type of food or something)or sometimes to pray for a long time,however even without so many compulsions,I’m still worried every single day,I feel so apart from God,I feel so ashamed of myself,I’m terrified of Him,I admit I have gotten back into some of my old sins like jealousy and envy,I’m not happy,I feel numb,I just want to be normal,I want to depend depend on God,and not be so terrified of Him,every single decision I do I do it in fear of Him(not the good fear )I don’t know I’m confused and lost,I want to get closer to God but I’m afraid to get stuck in prayer or having to prove to God I’m worthy of being forgiven,I don’t know:/ thank you for sharing those verses by the way,one verse that really freed my chains was John 16:33,I have told you these things so that I’m me you have peace.In this world you will have trouble,but take heart!i have overcome the world

Masterpiece · Apr 14, 2019

Mari17 said:
This sounds like it could be OCD. OCD tends to take a normal activity (for example, witnessing to unbelievers) and exaggerates it, making us feel like we have to go way above and beyond what is reasonable, even to the point of weirdness. Not that we don't sometimes, as Christians, do things that unbelievers might not understand, but there's a big difference between feeling strongly that we ought to do something and doing it versus acting strangely because our OCD is provoking us out of fear. If something feels weird and obsessive, it very often is. It sounds like you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself to live and behave perfectly, perhaps forgetting that following God is a process and that He helps us to grow in Him and become more and more like Him rather than expecting us to achieve everything on our own. Your job, then, is to recognize where OCD is asking you to do something, and to actually NOT do those things so that you learn to be controlled only by God and not by OCD. Of course, the line isn't always clear-cut, but part of learning to live in victory over OCD is learning that it's OK to not know all of the answers, but rather to just do your best and trust God to keep leading you and showing you the way.

Can OCD make me think i am Ashamed? I Can't think about anything else. I feel Like i want to be ashamed and Hide my faith. can OCD MAKE you THINK you're ashamed? I NEED HELP. I don't want to go to hell but at the same time my thoughts say that Jesus isnty worth it and that being ashamed of Jesus and Going to hell is worth it. I feel fear about having love because others will think im weird. I feel fear to be joyful because ppl will think im weird. I DONT HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO BELIEVE THAT I CAN OVERCOME THIS. God pls help me. So my question is can OCD make you think you are ashamed when your really not. I really wanna know.

Mari17 · Apr 15, 2019

Masterpiece said:
Thanks for replying. I am literally struggling with this as we speak. I feel abused with the thought of if im going to go "all out" for Jesus then i have to be "weird" with it. If i don't do it in a weird way then im Ashamed of him. I also spend all day focusing on this that, instead of doing my homework, I pray and my homework doesn't get done when it should. But while i pray, I feel like Im just doing this because i dont wanna go to hell, not because i want to truly be unashamed of Jesus. I feel i have to pray at random times out loud at school or im ashamed of him. Im literally am willing to go "All out, Radical" for Jesus and willingly push the whole world from me, But ONLY if thats what God wants, but If the WHOLE world looks at u as an outsider, how could they accept the Gospel from you? We should make the gospel appealing to people (Titus 2:10) not have people running and separating themselves from us because we chose to make the Gospel unatravtive to people because we try to shove in their face (This does not mean to water down the gospel). There is a right time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). Ask God to give you the right to to do these things. I Spend probably hours saying things like "I repent" "I chose you" "I dont care what others think" over and over again and all the while I still feel like im ashamed of him. And when I truly do feel like i repented, i feel a little better. But then Im reminded of this, then i go back to Praying and asking God to take this away for probably an hour or so. Its a constant battle that is unlike any other temptation i have ever experienced. But to encourage you I want to look back on all God has done for you. Now I dont know your situation, but I know how God has been with me in the past (although i Im not 100% sure hes will me still). Would God do ____ and _____ for you just to leave you in the end? I remember i Used to have doubts that God was even real. I cried out to him, continued on, and I think I had hope. Eventually, I forgot all about that doubt. I would constantly remind myself of James 1:2. The word "Various" in this verse could also me "Multicolored" "Many colors" which really helped me because my situation was so unusual. But God God me through it, and my Faith was stronger in the End.

What to do:
1) Read these verses: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, Titus 2:10, James 1:2, 1 Peter 3:15, 2 Timothy 1:7.

2) Although we may feel God isnt with us, we need to muster a Musterd seed amout of faith (haha Get it?) When we are in situations to act compulsive we need to ask God to give us peace about doing this. When I first started Getting serious about God I Had peace about things he wanted, and discomfort about things he didnt want. Unfortuently i dont feel that (at least i dont think i do) anymore, but that needs to be our goal. Example: "Should i witness to my boss God? If this is your will please show me." *God gives You Discomfort about doing it* "Okay thanks God. Keep leading me"

3) If You do get peace about doing it, dont Mix OCD in with Gods will. Talk casually and normal. “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matthew 10:14). We are to share the gospel, but, when it becomes apparent that the gospel is not welcome, we are to move on. We are responsible to share the good news; we are not responsible for people’s response to the good news. Pigs don’t appreciate pearls, and some people don’t appreciate what Christ has done for them. Our job is not to force conversions or cram the gospel down people’s throats; there’s no sense in preaching the value of pearls to swine. Jesus’ instruction to His apostles on how to handle rejection was to simply go elsewhere. There are other people who need to hear the gospel, and they are ready to hear it. Tell others. If they Reject you, dont force it on them. Just pray for them. God May tell You to witness to someone, but the seed that you planted will not grow until God Grows it (1 Corinthians 3:6) So dont get discouraged if you are rejected. Gods timing is perfect. No amount of witnessing to people will change a persons life unless the Holy Spirit works in those people. The Holy Spirit brings people to Christ. Not us.

4) DONT OBSESS. Its hard i Know (Im speaking to myself as well). God doesnt want us worrying about this all this time. This is a HUGE distraction from God. When we should be spending QUALITY time With God, We obsess. Thats not good. When we need to be producing fruit (Love, Joy, Peace, etc.) we worry about who's gonna be the next person we witness to. We need to be an EXAMPLE to others in our actions, and always be ready to tell others about Christ. In and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2) always ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the Hope we have (1 Peter 3:15). Overthinking makes things worse than they really are. We overexaggerate things. We add things that cause fear to us when in actuality our fears are completely over the top and are not even in the picture.

More tips:
1) Entertaining the thoughts that tell us "what will ___ think if I witnessed to them" actually catch us in a trap. We step on the trap (entertaing the thought) and are tangled us (worrying about what others think).
2) The Holy spirit doesnt say "Witness to ___ Or else you are ashamed of Jesus" in a Controling way. The Holy Spirit is Gentle and doesnt force you to do anything. The Holy Spirit COULD say somthing like that, but if the voice is Aggressive, then it is not God. Compulsion vs Conviction.

3) Dont Try to fight this with Mental or any other rituals. Dont Keep saying "I repent" a billion times until it feels "Just right," Say it and mean it (this goes for me as well). Or any other thing you do to make these feelings go away. Dont try to fight feelings or thoughts with feelings. It NEVER works.

4) Realize that these thoughts are completely consuming our lives. We worry about this non-stop. We dont watch TV, Do work, go outside, etc. because we are too busy obsessing.

5) We CANT overcome this on our own strength. We cant overpower this, control, contain this... So we HAVE to surrender it to God. Peter denied Jesus for a few reasons. Jesus warned him that He would deny him. But Peter said "I will not deny you" (Mat. 26:35). First I believe Peter had trust in his own strength, Not the Lord's. Then Jesus later told him to Pray so that he doesn't fall into temptation But instead, he fell asleep (Mat. 26:40-41). Then Unfortunately Peter Denied Jesus. Its the same with us. We NEED to listen to Jesus and ask him for his strength, and pray so that we too do not enter into temptation. That, added with faith and commitment we will be Good.

6) Ask God to Help you decern between OCD compulsions, and Holy Spirit Convictions. VERY IMPORTANT.

7)Find good Christian friends to help encourage you. If you dont know anyone maybe go to a local church. Talking to a Pastor about this is also a way to help you. ChristianChat is a great app.

I have a question. Why did You stop Asking Compulsive? Is it because you didnt want people to think youre wierd?

This response made me smile because it sounds like you know many of the answers even while you're still obsessing. (We usually do know the answers, deep down, but the fear is so strong that we just keep obsessing!) To answer the question in your most recent comment, yes, it sounds to me like you're having these feelings because your OCD is exaggerating what it means to witness. OCD has a way of making us feel like we don't want to follow God, because the requirements it puts on us are so stringent. But what OCD requires is not always the same as what God requires...right?

Masterpiece · Apr 16, 2019

Mari17 said:
This response made me smile because it sounds like you know many of the answers even while you're still obsessing. (We usually do know the answers, deep down, but the fear is so strong that we just keep obsessing!) To answer the question in your most recent comment, yes, it sounds to me like you're having these feelings because your OCD is exaggerating what it means to witness. OCD has a way of making us feel like we don't want to follow God, because the requirements it puts on us are so stringent. But what OCD requires is not always the same as what God requires...right?

I JUST WANT IT TO GO.

Mari17 · Apr 16, 2019

Masterpiece said:
I JUST WANT IT TO GO.

I know, I understand! It can be so difficult. I know this doesn't make it any easier, but try to remember that being loving and joyful as a witness is not something we have to "put on" and force. It sounds like you know a lot of the answers (about how to stand up to the OCD) already - perhaps it's more a matter of giving yourself permission to live out those answers.

RenewedHope30 · Apr 19, 2019

Glory to GOD and His Son Lord Jesus!!
Praying and waiting on the day my ocd is gone!

Marebear · Apr 21, 2019

@fauna hiiii fauna, im so happy that u have found freedoom can u plzz help me with sexual thoughs??? i never used to have these but now when Jesus said "who ever looks at a woman has already committed adultry in her heart". Now i dont even want to go outside cuz im scared of commiting adultery. I dont even like being around guys cuz im scared of lusting. can u plz help me on how u overcame this??

Mari17 · Apr 25, 2019

Marebear said:
@fauna hiiii fauna, im so happy that u have found freedoom can u plzz help me with sexual thoughs??? i never used to have these but now when Jesus said "who ever looks at a woman has already committed adultry in her heart". Now i dont even want to go outside cuz im scared of commiting adultery. I dont even like being around guys cuz im scared of lusting. can u plz help me on how u overcame this??

Do you have experience dealing with other obsessions? With OCD, we have to keep implementing the same strategies, no matter the obsession. I can point you in the direction of some great websites, and/or talk about some of my experiences, if you like!

Marebear · Apr 25, 2019

Mari17 said:
Do you have experience dealing with other obsessions? With OCD, we have to keep implementing the same strategies, no matter the obsession. I can point you in the direction of some great websites, and/or talk about some of my experiences, if you like!

Hi Mary!! Thank you for responding yes I have other obsessions but this is my biggest one now. Can u plz send me those websites if u could please and thank u!!

Mari17 · Apr 27, 2019

Marebear said:
Hi Mary!! Thank you for responding yes I have other obsessions but this is my biggest one now. Can u plz send me those websites if u could please and thank u!!

I have a lot of good websites, but here are some of my favorites:
http://ocdandchristianity.com/
https://noiseinyourhead.com/free-video-series/
Welcome
https://www.ocdonline.com/
The OCD Stories | Real Stories That Educate & Inspire Those With OCD
There's also a Facebook group "Christianity and Anxiety Disorders" which is pretty good!

fauna · Jan 25, 2020

Hey friends!

WOW my original post was from almost 4 years ago!! A lot has changed since then: I'm now a high school English teacher hahahaa. And I live in an apartment with some wonderful sisters in Christ! Still seeking the Lord of course

Praying for you all on here, that the bountiful love of God would meet you wherever you are and that you would trust that He loves and cares for you:

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans not to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" - Jeremiah 29:11

Love you guys! Stay well!

Hopefully120 · Feb 18, 2020

fauna said:
Hey friends!

WOW my original post was from almost 4 years ago!! A lot has changed since then: I'm now a high school English teacher hahahaa. And I live in an apartment with some wonderful sisters in Christ! Still seeking the Lord of course

Praying for you all on here, that the bountiful love of God would meet you wherever you are and that you would trust that He loves and cares for you:

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans not to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'" - Jeremiah 29:11

Love you guys! Stay well!

hey I was wondering if you could personally message me!! feeling really lost!!

Hopefully120 · Feb 18, 2020

Mari17 said:
Thanks for reaching out and being willing to share your struggles! This sounds like very classic OCD. How are you trying to "reprogram" your brain? Although OCD can feel debilitating (I've struggled with it for 20+ years), the beautiful thing is that there are ways to manage it and to control it to the point that you can have peace and freedom in your mind again. Medication can be helpful (so I hear, I've never taken it myself) but the best way to gain long-term freedom is to use therapy tactics, mostly ERP (exposure and response prevention) therapy. That doesn't mean you have to actually go to therapy; you can teach yourself how to use the techniques. Are you familiar with ERP? I'd be happy to provide more information, and I also can give links to some very helpful websites about OCD if you're interested. There is definitely hope and freedom available if you are willing to work for it!

Could you provide me with more information and links?

Hopefully120 · Feb 19, 2020

Mari17 said:
I have to respectfully disagree with 1am3laine because OCD is a totally different ballgame than a real spiritual issue. Of course, with OCD, you feel like you have a spiritual issue, even though you don't. Your OCD is incredibly smart, and will do whatever it can to horrify you. That means making you feel like you DO mean the bad thoughts, that you are a bad person. My advice to you is going to be the same as what I've already mentioned...start playing into the OCD's hand, instead of running from it. It's kind of like this: there are a bunch of bad guys running around on a field, with paper swords in their hands. OCD is their general, the mastermind. He has them pretty well disguised, so that to you they look like real bad guys with real swords. You're terrified of these guys with swords, because they could kill you. So every time one comes running near you, you deflect him with your shield of compulsions - blocking the thoughts, asking forgiveness, etc. It's exhausting, but you really don't want to be killed, so you keep doing it. Now, the more afraid you are, the more puffed up these little guys with their little fake swords get. Soon, all they have to do is look at you, and your shield goes up. The problem is, you want to be free. You don't want to be bothered by these guys anymore, because you know that they're fake even though you can't seem to believe it. But that means stepping out on the field toward them. It means showing them you're not afraid by leaving your shield down. Of course, then you run the risk of them running you through with their swords. It's risky, because you don't know for sure yet if the swords ARE paper, and OCD is extraordinarily clever at making them look real. So, now's the moment of decision. Can you take the risk? You don't have to - but that means you will be indefinitely stuck in the same place, blocking the intrusive thoughts and getting more and more afraid of them. Or - the alternative. You can put the shield down. You can walk forward, eyes straight ahead, not looking at the mean little guys. Letting them jab their paper swords at you. At first you will jump in fright every time it happens. "Oh no! What if that's a real sword coming at me!" Everything in you will want to block it using a compulsion. "I need to drive that thought away, I need to ask God to forgive me! I'm a horrible person!" Despite those cries of fear, that rising anxiety, KEEP YOUR SHIELD DOWN and refuse the compulsions. Let the bad thoughts come. "OK, you want to come at me? Go for it. I'm terrified that I really mean that thought, but I'm taking the risk that it really is just an obsessive meaningless thought, so I'm going to leave it." That doesn't mean you like the thought or agree with it - just that you're showing OCD that you don't mean it, by refusing to nullify it or ask forgiveness for it. Will you FEEL like you mean it? Yes. OCD is good at disguising our true thoughts and feelings. That's why you have to use actions before feelings. SHOW the OCD that you know the thoughts are meaningless, even though you don't feel like they are. Let those stupid little men poke at you with their stupid paper swords. It'll hurt a lot a first, and feel so wrong, because your OCD will be telling you "That's a bad thought! You're a bad person! You need to block it with a compulsion!" IF YOU PERSIST in refusing to do compulsions, and letting those thoughts just come and do their thing, you'll start to notice something. Those swords? They're not real. In fact, they don't hurt at all. As you do this, your courage will start to rise. You'll keep walking, and suddenly those mean guys will look smaller and smaller. They'll keep trying to poke you for a while, but as you get stronger you'll realize how small and powerless they are. Your courage will rise and your anxiety will sink, and as you keep moving forward you will stumble across something you never expected to see again. Freedom.

It all sounds overly simplistic, but that's about what it boils down to. Ignore the thoughts, refuse to do compulsions. Let the anxiety come. Expect that your anxiety levels will rise, as you do this. It won't kill you. Once your OCD sees that you are not going to be afraid anymore, your anxiety will start to diminish - and so will the intrusive thoughts. Those of us with OCD have a brain that's prewired to get "stuck" on certain thoughts, and is predisposed to want us to be anxious - thus the reason that our OCD sadistically tries to pull us under with obsessions. It does it because it can, because it knows that we will freak out. Whereas a person without OCD would have a thought about blaspheming God and would say, "Hm, that's not a nice thought. I wouldn't really want to do that," and then moves on with their life, a person with OCD will suddenly get stuck on the thought because the OCD says "Ah ha! Here's something to be afraid of! Maybe you really DO want to!" We have to learn to say no to the OCD, to that urge to be afraid. It's simple, even though our OCD makes it seems complicated. But it's also really, really difficult, because it always involves doing something that feels wrong (because our OCD deceives us and makes us feel like it's bad to not do our compulsions). In the end, though, the choice is ours. We ultimately have to be the ones with the courage to say, "Enough is enough. It feels like OCD, so I'm taking that risk and treating it like it is." If you really can't get the process started on your own, I'd recommend finding a therapist who knows how to use ERP. If you don't want to do that, then use these techniques and research ERP - and start doing it on your own. Your freedom is too important not to fight for it.

Hi! Could you help me?? Im struggling a lot and need some guidance.

Hopefully120 · Feb 19, 2020

fauna said:
Hi all! I just wanna share my testimony about my struggles with OCD (this is a super simplified version, it was a lot more complex than this, but I hope you will get the idea!)

I suffered from all sorts of OCD for about a year. I'm currently a sophomore in college, but all of last year I suffered from so many different types of OCD - I was obsessed with wondering if I was really saved, if I blasphemed the Holy Spirit (I was struggling with blasphemous thoughts constantly) , and I struggled with doubting thoughts, sexual thoughts, etc that I really hated and didn't want. I felt tormented day and night, and struggled with insomnia for about 4 months as well. It was probably the worst time of my life - I was also dealing with other forms of anxiety and fear (I was constantly worried about the future, my appearance, what people thought of me, etc). Last winter, I was hospitalized for anxiety-related complications - I had trouble breathing and I had a terrible case of gastritis for about 2 weeks.

During the school year, I got in touch with one of the pastors of my church that I attend while here. I didn't know where else to turn. I was turning to the school psychologists (they did absolutely nothing for me, all they did was say, "just take some anti-depressants"). I didn't end up doing it because I just felt like there had to be some other way out of this mess. My pastor knows a lot about anxiety and fear, so he counseled me. When he prayed for me, he told me that he had a vision of me being held in chains, but with a chain breaking loose. I was literally in bondage. He told me that God wanted to say to me that He loves me, that I don't have to fear. And my favorite part was when he told me: "He's setting you free."

So then we worked on something called a "Truth Book," where I wrote down all the lies and fears like:
- I'm worthless, I'm afraid that I'm not really saved, I'm ugly, I'm stupid, I'm afraid for the future, afraid of my life, what if I blasphemed, etc (the list goes on and on).

Next to each of these, I wrote down the biblical TRUTH. For example:
- I'm fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 193:14)
- There's nothing that can separate me from the love of God, including my thoughts (Romans 8:31-39).
- I have been chosen by God and adopted as his child (Ephesians 1:3-8).
- Etc, etc. (I can look up more truths for all of you if you're interested)

Essentially, I had to tell myself that: I AM A CHILD OF GOD. A precious, precious child of God. And so are you. It was really hard for me though because my brain was still all over the place and I kept wanting to "make sure," and I kept asking, "But what if..."

Lemme tell all of you something: God's love for you is BIGGER than you could ever imagine. There's is NOTHING that can change God's love for you, not even your craziest thoughts. HE LOVES YOU. Radically. And it has nothing to do with who you are or what you've done, He has called you because of His love.

Some practical steps for those who struggle with similar types of OCD:
1. No more obsessively googling "OCD"! Get off of this forum if you're using it as a way to obsess over your OCD (let this be the last OCD post you read, haha). I actually used to OBSESS over the OCD forums on this site. But hours of reading posts makes it worse. I made an account just because I felt moved to come back after these few months of freedom and write a little testimony.

2. Don't focus on the problem, as difficult as it is. Keep your eyes on Jesus. If you must do research, do some research on who GOD says you are. Chew on this, and embrace this identity. The truth will set you free (John 8:32).

3. EXERCISE. This seriously helps with sleep. Try for 3-4 sessions of aerobic exercise every week... anything that gets your heart rate up (at least for 20 minutes per session!).

4. Minimize stress in your life if you can, and eat healthy, drink lots of water, don't drink too much caffeine, etc. If you're a student, try not to procrastinate, haha~

5. Be patient with yourself. Freedom took me a LONG time. I doubted God's word of freedom over me because it took so long. God wants freedom for you too, more than even YOU want it!

6. Mediate on God's word for you, a little bit each day. Let Him break every chain, one by one. You are God's child. So when another one of those nasty thoughts pop in your mind (for those with the obsessive thoughts), realize that it's okay, realize that you are not your thoughts. Just let them chill there, even though they can be disturbing/scary thoughts - no need to fight against them because you know that God loves you no matter what pops up in your mind.

Sometimes I get tempted to fall back into insecurity, fear, shame, etc. We're in a spiritual battle. But we've already won the battle, because Christ lives in us. So don't be afraid! Stay strong!

GOD LOVES YOU<3

Here are some freedom songs for you to check out. Also, feel free to ask any questions I really wanna be of help to you guys.

Hi! I was wondering if you could message me? Im really struggling.

Freedom from OCD!

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