Intrusive thoughts filling me with fear

[LenaStair25]

Hello there. I never thought about posting on a forum before but I am tired and am seeking help from other Christians out there. I haven't been diagnosed with OCD, but I have done lots of research and from what I have read, I have been suffering from it.

I am 16 years old and have been suffering from depression for 5 years and along the way, I started getting intrusive thoughts. It started 2 years ago, and all of them are about the devil. I am terrified and I don't know why these thoughts are in my head. I have tried praying every single time I could, begging God to take them away, but I feel so abandoned since they're just becoming stronger.

The thoughts are mainly about selling/trading my soul and my little brother's soul to the devil. It feels so real and have such a strong urge to do it that sometimes I am scared I have done it. Sometimes I'd be doing something and the thought of 'Im trading my soul or my little brothers soul' pops into my head and it terrifies me beyond relief. I have read in certain places that it is impossible to sell someone else's soul, but the fact that my brother is only 7 years old, I feel like such an awful person. I feel like I don't deserve my family because they are such wonderful people. I can't enjoy anything at all because these thoughts are always there. I am also alone because I do all my schooling online via the internet so I have no human contact during the day, therefore making me overthink.

To be honest, I don't belong in heaven. I feel disgusting and I don't deserve to be there. I am scared I have hurt my brother and I don't deserve to be with God, me being so young and weak and letting these thoughts into my head, I feel so tainted. But I have been asking God for help but I feel like he has left me because I don't feel the connection with him like I did before. My faith has withered because of this disconnection I have created because my prayers haven't been answered.

I was wondering if I could please get some advice and thank you so much for reading this.

 

[Blake_]

I have had this same issue. Word for word, I was terrified of selling my soul to the devil.
1) Those thoughts are not yours. Those thoughts are spiritual attacks of the enemy. Our minds are not just filled with our thoughts, but the thoughts of God and--unfortunately--the enemy as well.
2) Jesus died, and we have taken on his perfectness in God's eyes. There is no sin whatsoever that you can commit; they simply wash off your skin like water. The belief in Jesus is like an armor that prevents you from past, present and future sin. God "remembers them no more". He has forgotten them, so should you.
3) With that knowledge known, give up on trying to fight them. You literally cannot win. The more YOU try to fight the thoughts, the worse they will become. This is a product of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Do not give them the light of day. Do not even pray about them. It will take time, but you must live by FAITH, not by your own reasoning. Give those thoughts up to God, he is the only one that can win. This battle is not yours to fight, God is teaching you to trust fully in him rather than yourself. Believe it or not, this is a blessing in disguise, as it gives you the opportunity for incredibly strong faith.
4) None of us are above temptation. Temptation, unwanted feelings, and anxiety are things that we will always face while we are alive, they are not going away. The idea that you can just erase that from happening, or the idea that God will just magically take that away, is untrue. God believes in you, he's not going to treat you like a baby, he gives us all tests that we must pass. This is your cross to bear, and thankfully you have an all powerful God that offers to take the weight of it for you. Give it to him, trust in him, that is how you will pass the test.
5) Living by faith, as I am finding out everyday, requires ACTION. When I say don't pay attention to these thoughts, I know it is hard, but seriously do not do it. Give it to God! DO IT! YOU CAN! The fight is not yours. Focus on your life and the life God has given you, and think upon other things. Focus on the perfection that Jesus has given you, and not the trying to reason with the thoughts.
Be a DO-ER not a DON'T-ER

Go to this link: http://www.net-burst.net/guilty/unforgivable_blasphemy.htm
I will post a few of my favorite quotes from this man's work. He is a blessing.

"Burn this into your brain: You must cease trying to stop repulsive, ungodly thoughts. Fighting thoughts is as carnal and as opposed to God’s holy ways as trying to physically kill people who hate Christ. Supposing we can gain God’s approval by thinking nothing but pure thoughts is as heretical as abandoning faith in Christ and supposing we can be saved by works.

We must put an end to carnal methods – fear, mental effort, fighting thoughts – and become spiritual. That means relinquishing faith in our own efforts and trusting Christ alone. We overcome not by fearing thoughts, nor by fighting them, but by faith alone – by resting in the fact that on the cross Christ has completed everything necessary to secure our salvation.

To be spiritual is to look not to one’s thought life but to Christ alone. The more messed up our thought life is, the better, in that it forces us to realize we can only be saved by faith in Christ, not by our works".
All your prayers and efforts to stop unwanted thoughts have failed and will always fail, because the only way to please God is by faith in what Christ achieved on the cross WITHOUT your prayers and effort.

"When you find yourself suffering like Kate, my suggestion is that you go on the offensive and hit the Enemy where it hurts him most. Whenever a lying thought about Jesus comes to you, turn it into an occasion to praise Jesus, thanking him that he is the holy Son of God; pure and sinless. Keep exalting Jesus until the blasphemous thought eventually leaves. Every time the thought returns, rejoice in the purity, perfection, and divine power of your Lord, affirming his goodness in praise-filled prayer. Then, no matter what heretical things flash through your mind, every lie fired into your head turns into an invitation to exalt Jesus and build up your faith in his righteousness. However, you most exalt Christ, not by turning this into an obsessive ritual, but by relaxing and enjoying the fact that through Christ you are forgiven, no matter what unwanted thoughts plague you"

"Thoughts do not faze God. His concern is that we keep trusting in the power of the cross. Our thought life does not save us; Christ does. Neither will our thought life condemn us to hell. The only thing that will do that is to die refusing to have faith in the power of Christ’s sacrifice to cleanse us"

 

[LenaStair25]

I have had this same issue. Word for word, I was terrified of selling my soul to the devil.
1) Those thoughts are not yours. Those thoughts are spiritual attacks of the enemy. Our minds are not just filled with our thoughts, but the thoughts of God and--unfortunately--the enemy as well.
2) Jesus died, and we have taken on his perfectness in God's eyes. There is no sin whatsoever that you can commit; they simply wash off your skin like water. The belief in Jesus is like an armor that prevents you from past, present and future sin. God "remembers them no more". He has forgotten them, so should you.
3) With that knowledge known, give up on trying to fight them. You literally cannot win. The more YOU try to fight the thoughts, the worse they will become. This is a product of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Do not give them the light of day. Do not even pray about them. It will take time, but you must live by FAITH, not by your own reasoning. Give those thoughts up to God, he is the only one that can win. This battle is not yours to fight, God is teaching you to trust fully in him rather than yourself. Believe it or not, this is a blessing in disguise, as it gives you the opportunity for incredibly strong faith.
4) None of us are above temptation. Temptation, unwanted feelings, and anxiety are things that we will always face while we are alive, they are not going away. The idea that you can just erase that from happening, or the idea that God will just magically take that away, is untrue. God believes in you, he's not going to treat you like a baby, he gives us all tests that we must pass. This is your cross to bear, and thankfully you have an all powerful God that offers to take the weight of it for you. Give it to him, trust in him, that is how you will pass the test.
5) Living by faith, as I am finding out everyday, requires ACTION. When I say don't pay attention to these thoughts, I know it is hard, but seriously do not do it. Give it to God! DO IT! YOU CAN! The fight is not yours. Focus on your life and the life God has given you, and think upon other things. Focus on the perfection that Jesus has given you, and not the trying to reason with the thoughts.
Be a DO-ER not a DON'T-ER

Go to this link: http://www.net-burst.net/guilty/unforgivable_blasphemy.htm
I will post a few of my favorite quotes from this man's work. He is a blessing.

"Burn this into your brain: You must cease trying to stop repulsive, ungodly thoughts. Fighting thoughts is as carnal and as opposed to God’s holy ways as trying to physically kill people who hate Christ. Supposing we can gain God’s approval by thinking nothing but pure thoughts is as heretical as abandoning faith in Christ and supposing we can be saved by works.

We must put an end to carnal methods – fear, mental effort, fighting thoughts – and become spiritual. That means relinquishing faith in our own efforts and trusting Christ alone. We overcome not by fearing thoughts, nor by fighting them, but by faith alone – by resting in the fact that on the cross Christ has completed everything necessary to secure our salvation.

To be spiritual is to look not to one’s thought life but to Christ alone. The more messed up our thought life is, the better, in that it forces us to realize we can only be saved by faith in Christ, not by our works".
All your prayers and efforts to stop unwanted thoughts have failed and will always fail, because the only way to please God is by faith in what Christ achieved on the cross WITHOUT your prayers and effort.

"When you find yourself suffering like Kate, my suggestion is that you go on the offensive and hit the Enemy where it hurts him most. Whenever a lying thought about Jesus comes to you, turn it into an occasion to praise Jesus, thanking him that he is the holy Son of God; pure and sinless. Keep exalting Jesus until the blasphemous thought eventually leaves. Every time the thought returns, rejoice in the purity, perfection, and divine power of your Lord, affirming his goodness in praise-filled prayer. Then, no matter what heretical things flash through your mind, every lie fired into your head turns into an invitation to exalt Jesus and build up your faith in his righteousness. However, you most exalt Christ, not by turning this into an obsessive ritual, but by relaxing and enjoying the fact that through Christ you are forgiven, no matter what unwanted thoughts plague you"

"Thoughts do not faze God. His concern is that we keep trusting in the power of the cross. Our thought life does not save us; Christ does. Neither will our thought life condemn us to hell. The only thing that will do that is to die refusing to have faith in the power of Christ’s sacrifice to cleanse us"

Thank you so much for replying. Your message was so uplifting and so wonderful to read; I felt so alone and I am so grateful for your message. I will trust God and give all my fears to him. I cannot thank you enough.

 

[babegirl111]

Lena, you have not sold your soul nor your little brothers and you never will. You are suffering from an illness and that is why these thoughts cause you so much grief. God sees your heart and He loves you more than you could ever know. He knows these thoughts are not of you or your heart but with the illness they seem so real to you....I can assure you they are not. Keep praying girl and I will pray for you. God is holding you in the palm of His hand. Stay Strong

 

[God is good]

I have had this same issue. Word for word, I was terrified of selling my soul to the devil.
1) Those thoughts are not yours. Those thoughts are spiritual attacks of the enemy. Our minds are not just filled with our thoughts, but the thoughts of God and--unfortunately--the enemy as well.
2) Jesus died, and we have taken on his perfectness in God's eyes. There is no sin whatsoever that you can commit; they simply wash off your skin like water. The belief in Jesus is like an armor that prevents you from past, present and future sin. God "remembers them no more". He has forgotten them, so should you.
3) With that knowledge known, give up on trying to fight them. You literally cannot win. The more YOU try to fight the thoughts, the worse they will become. This is a product of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Do not give them the light of day. Do not even pray about them. It will take time, but you must live by FAITH, not by your own reasoning. Give those thoughts up to God, he is the only one that can win. This battle is not yours to fight, God is teaching you to trust fully in him rather than yourself. Believe it or not, this is a blessing in disguise, as it gives you the opportunity for incredibly strong faith.
4) None of us are above temptation. Temptation, unwanted feelings, and anxiety are things that we will always face while we are alive, they are not going away. The idea that you can just erase that from happening, or the idea that God will just magically take that away, is untrue. God believes in you, he's not going to treat you like a baby, he gives us all tests that we must pass. This is your cross to bear, and thankfully you have an all powerful God that offers to take the weight of it for you. Give it to him, trust in him, that is how you will pass the test.
5) Living by faith, as I am finding out everyday, requires ACTION. When I say don't pay attention to these thoughts, I know it is hard, but seriously do not do it. Give it to God! DO IT! YOU CAN! The fight is not yours. Focus on your life and the life God has given you, and think upon other things. Focus on the perfection that Jesus has given you, and not the trying to reason with the thoughts.
Be a DO-ER not a DON'T-ER

Go to this link: http://www.net-burst.net/guilty/unforgivable_blasphemy.htm
I will post a few of my favorite quotes from this man's work. He is a blessing.

"Burn this into your brain: You must cease trying to stop repulsive, ungodly thoughts. Fighting thoughts is as carnal and as opposed to God’s holy ways as trying to physically kill people who hate Christ. Supposing we can gain God’s approval by thinking nothing but pure thoughts is as heretical as abandoning faith in Christ and supposing we can be saved by works.

We must put an end to carnal methods – fear, mental effort, fighting thoughts – and become spiritual. That means relinquishing faith in our own efforts and trusting Christ alone. We overcome not by fearing thoughts, nor by fighting them, but by faith alone – by resting in the fact that on the cross Christ has completed everything necessary to secure our salvation.

To be spiritual is to look not to one’s thought life but to Christ alone. The more messed up our thought life is, the better, in that it forces us to realize we can only be saved by faith in Christ, not by our works".
All your prayers and efforts to stop unwanted thoughts have failed and will always fail, because the only way to please God is by faith in what Christ achieved on the cross WITHOUT your prayers and effort.

"When you find yourself suffering like Kate, my suggestion is that you go on the offensive and hit the Enemy where it hurts him most. Whenever a lying thought about Jesus comes to you, turn it into an occasion to praise Jesus, thanking him that he is the holy Son of God; pure and sinless. Keep exalting Jesus until the blasphemous thought eventually leaves. Every time the thought returns, rejoice in the purity, perfection, and divine power of your Lord, affirming his goodness in praise-filled prayer. Then, no matter what heretical things flash through your mind, every lie fired into your head turns into an invitation to exalt Jesus and build up your faith in his righteousness. However, you most exalt Christ, not by turning this into an obsessive ritual, but by relaxing and enjoying the fact that through Christ you are forgiven, no matter what unwanted thoughts plague you"

"Thoughts do not faze God. His concern is that we keep trusting in the power of the cross. Our thought life does not save us; Christ does. Neither will our thought life condemn us to hell. The only thing that will do that is to die refusing to have faith in the power of Christ’s sacrifice to cleanse us"

I need you to please pray for me, i struggle with these thoughts too and i get the feelings too and I'm so scared of death, please pray for me and that the good Lord Jesus will stay with me. I love God and Jesus