I have OCD and have been struggling for many days now doubting my salvation and having thoughts that God and Jesus aren't real even though I know they are. A few weeks ago I would've known they were...but not during this. Also if I try to ignore the thoughts and feelings and tell myself...it's not me...it's my ocd...then I feel guilty like it is saying I don't care if I'm saved or not and then I thought what if I don't care if I'm saved...but I know deep down I do.. I don't know what to do. HELP!!
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frank1234
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O.K;
There are two things that you are battling with:
First, That maybe you have lost your salvation.
Second, God and Jesus are real(Doubt about their existence).
I think It's better to deal with the first one first. There are number of books or information on the internet you can read to help you beyond the shadow of doubt that God is real and Jesus is real, and that they exist, and that The Word of God which declares God to us can be trusted. I can think of www.carm.org for you to refer to help you in this area.(Check out, specially, on the left side of the front page of that website about "QUESTIONS" on different topics.)
On the second issue, loosing your salvation, Bible is clear that once a person is genuinly born again, they can not ever loose their salvation, because The Spirit of God lives in them and they belong to God and Nobody can snatch them out of God's hand. The only thing you have to look into after The Word of God is your heart. Do you believe that Jesus is the Son Of God, and that He died on the cross and on the 3rd day He rose again, Then you are saved.
Unfortunately our minds because of OCD(and some times the devil) create problems in these areas. I, myself was going through the same topic not more than few weeks ago and was struggling severely wether I had lost my salvation or not, and It took people from this same forum to remind me of what I already knew. Salvation is a gift which we could never earn(grace) and all we do is to receive it by faith. If you have already done that, then you can be rest assured that you are a child of God. But please do check out that christian website to help you with the truthfullness of God's existence and the Bible. I will pray for you. God Bless and be with you.
There are two things that you are battling with:
First, That maybe you have lost your salvation.
Second, God and Jesus are real(Doubt about their existence).
I think It's better to deal with the first one first. There are number of books or information on the internet you can read to help you beyond the shadow of doubt that God is real and Jesus is real, and that they exist, and that The Word of God which declares God to us can be trusted. I can think of www.carm.org for you to refer to help you in this area.(Check out, specially, on the left side of the front page of that website about "QUESTIONS" on different topics.)
On the second issue, loosing your salvation, Bible is clear that once a person is genuinly born again, they can not ever loose their salvation, because The Spirit of God lives in them and they belong to God and Nobody can snatch them out of God's hand. The only thing you have to look into after The Word of God is your heart. Do you believe that Jesus is the Son Of God, and that He died on the cross and on the 3rd day He rose again, Then you are saved.
Unfortunately our minds because of OCD(and some times the devil) create problems in these areas. I, myself was going through the same topic not more than few weeks ago and was struggling severely wether I had lost my salvation or not, and It took people from this same forum to remind me of what I already knew. Salvation is a gift which we could never earn(grace) and all we do is to receive it by faith. If you have already done that, then you can be rest assured that you are a child of God. But please do check out that christian website to help you with the truthfullness of God's existence and the Bible. I will pray for you. God Bless and be with you.
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gracealone
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Hi Crystal,
Frank is right on about all he said about salvation. Isn't great to hear such an awesome testimony of faith from someone who has gone through exactly what you have gone through?
I noticed though that you commented that you had these scary thoughts, even though you knew, they were not true. This is very typical of OCD. We rationally know that it is the OCD making the thoughts seem so magnified and terrifying but we can't shake the emotion of anxiety that accompanies them.
So we begin to seek out reassurance. The thing is that most of us already know these reassuring Biblical truths of assurance of salvation. It's only the intense anxiety that is causing us to feel that these doubtful thoughts just might be true.
As far as the guilt of ignoring the thoughts, this too is a common twist of OCD. It is very hard to employ the technique of just letting the thoughts be there when, if I may be so blunt, we are fearing that we are doomed forever to hell. But this is exactly what you must do. If you keep up arguing with the thoughts you only make them seem all the more valid -worthy of attention.
When a person is first exposed to a small amount of allergen with the intent to desensitize their system to it, their system will react in a very unpleasant manner to it until over time and with increasing exposure their system becomes habituated to it and stops reacting.
Same thing with OCD.. at first trying to employ exposure response can actually make you feel worse, but over time and with continued exposure, without fighting the thoughts your brain and consequently your anxiety center will become habituated to them and not flip out so badly.
I'm so sorry for the intense mental pain you are in right now. But your OCD would not attack your faith in Christ if it weren't such a precious thing to you and you would not be upset by it if you didn't adore Him.
I'll be praying for you.
Under the Mercy,
Mitzi
Frank is right on about all he said about salvation. Isn't great to hear such an awesome testimony of faith from someone who has gone through exactly what you have gone through?
I noticed though that you commented that you had these scary thoughts, even though you knew, they were not true. This is very typical of OCD. We rationally know that it is the OCD making the thoughts seem so magnified and terrifying but we can't shake the emotion of anxiety that accompanies them.
So we begin to seek out reassurance. The thing is that most of us already know these reassuring Biblical truths of assurance of salvation. It's only the intense anxiety that is causing us to feel that these doubtful thoughts just might be true.
As far as the guilt of ignoring the thoughts, this too is a common twist of OCD. It is very hard to employ the technique of just letting the thoughts be there when, if I may be so blunt, we are fearing that we are doomed forever to hell. But this is exactly what you must do. If you keep up arguing with the thoughts you only make them seem all the more valid -worthy of attention.
When a person is first exposed to a small amount of allergen with the intent to desensitize their system to it, their system will react in a very unpleasant manner to it until over time and with increasing exposure their system becomes habituated to it and stops reacting.
Same thing with OCD.. at first trying to employ exposure response can actually make you feel worse, but over time and with continued exposure, without fighting the thoughts your brain and consequently your anxiety center will become habituated to them and not flip out so badly.
I'm so sorry for the intense mental pain you are in right now. But your OCD would not attack your faith in Christ if it weren't such a precious thing to you and you would not be upset by it if you didn't adore Him.
I'll be praying for you.
Under the Mercy,
Mitzi
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Thank you guys for your comments. I have been off my medicine (effexor xr) for about 6 months. I went back on zoloft a couple of weeks ago and it seems to be working.
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