spiritual questions

[OptimisticSmile]

question 1. (a general question)
do those of you who suffer with OCD have trouble recognizing Gods voice and do you ever get concerned thinking you dont hear his voice at all. how do you discern Gods voice in light of the struggle.

question 2 (more for me )
I have a question about a situation I had a while back that I believe God was using me but I also have this thought that it could have been something else. I had the what if thought of what if it was esp stemming from demonic influence . sorry if that sets some of you off on a tangent of thoughts. mabye it was just a coincidence. does the below scenerio seem to fit into a spiritual gifting? I have other situations like this but this is the most prominent. If it is a part of a spiritual gifting then mabye it has to do with my calling to be a counselor.

a few months ago I used to pray with a group of friends nightly. one night a stranger showed up and as she was praying the thought came to me that she was bipolar . after we got done praying we went inside a building and when i left I asked the girl if there was anything she needed prayer about because of the thought I had when she was praying. she then started crying and said she was bipolar. My friends overheard and went up to her and started praying for her. It was like she had been holding it in and was wanting to open up about it but didnt know how. So I believe maybe God used me to get her to open up so she could be helped and the girl started joining us frequently after that .

sometimes I when I see God using me I get the thought "God uses the unsaved too" or when he has done big things in my life I think "well that wasnt for me, it was to get me to a state where I could be used " The way I have learned to counter that is to think of the fact that of all my freinds who serve as I do he has chosen for me to experience these things instead of them. he does it because he loves me and wants me to have an opertunity to see him work through me. Im not any more special because I know God is using my freinds in similar ways I just dont always hear about it.

 

[CavFan]

It's not so much that I worry about not hearing His voice, but worry that what I think is His voice isn't.

 

[gracealone]

do those of you who suffer with OCD have trouble recognizing Gods voice and do you ever get concerned thinking you dont hear his voice at all. how do you discern Gods voice in light of the struggle.

Yes, I have this problem but that is because my OCD, when it's very active, causes me to second guess many things. I usually let the Word guide me in this matter and I don't assume that any thing is God's voice or leading but I can follow a leading and wait to see if God is at work. But If something is in accordance with scripture it is acceptable and if it violates scripture then I know it is unacceptable.


I have a question about a situation I had a while back that I believe God was using me but I also have this thought that it could have been something else. I had the what if thought of what if it was esp stemming from demonic influence . sorry if that sets some of you off on a tangent of thoughts. mabye it was just a coincidence. does the below scenerio seem to fit into a spiritual gifting? I have other situations like this but this is the most prominent. If it is a part of a spiritual gifting then mabye it has to do with my calling to be a counselor.

one night a stranger showed up and as she was praying the thought came to me that she was bipolar . after we got done praying we went inside a building and when i left I asked the girl if there was anything she needed prayer about because of the thought I had when she was praying. she then started crying and said she was bipolar. My friends overheard and went up to her and started praying for her. It was like she had been holding it in and was wanting to open up about it but didnt know how. So I believe maybe God used me to get her to open up so she could be helped and the girl started joining us frequently after that .

In this scenario the outcome of that knowledge allowed you and your friends to "bear and share her burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ?" Nothing that occured violated scripture. You did the right thing though, by not going up to her and saying, "God just told me that you are bi-polar." Instead you waited on God to confirm the leading by just asking her if she needed prayer. We can't just assume that we are hearing the voice of God in things but we can feel led in certain directions and by following that leading we can trust God to confirm it or not. As far as the question of Demonic influences... well that is certainly OCD at work.
Have you ever read CS Lewis - "Screwtape letters). It's a good book on how subtle Satan's attacks are in the life of a Christian. Nothing like what you are describing. What you are describing, I've had also. It's more of a "boogey man" type attack where the thoughts of possible Demonic activity are given way too much attention by us. Best way to deal with this type of "ghost" is to just ignore it when it says "BOO!!" It's not much fun to say Boo is the victim doesn't flinch.
Any how to get back on topic - Have you read "90 minutes in heaven"? In this book a Baptist minister felt led by God to go and pray for a dead man who was trapped in a car. ( Keep in mind that Baptist preachers are not in the habit of praying for the dead). The only way to confirm this was to just go and pray for the man. He didn't begin by telling the paramedics that he knew the man was still alive instead he just followed the Lord's leading... and although this man had been declared dead for 90 minutes God used this minister to demonstrate His power through prayer and the man lived. God confirmed that it was Him leading in this situation. (Great read if you haven't read it already. )
People only begin to get into to trouble when they are so proud that they assume every voice in their head to be the voice of God. This is arrogance. Even bigger trouble... if they believe something is God's voice which is in direct vilolation of scripture.

Im not any more special because I know God is using my freinds in similar ways I just dont always hear about it.[/quote]

Neither am I and as long as we know how easy it is for us to be proud we are not in danger from it.. but as soon as we begin to say.. "Wow look how humble I am".. then pride is ruling. Hope this has been of some small help. Mitzi

 

[HeatherG]

Q1.
I think I'm mega-cautious about assuming things are God's voice. Even when my friends are saying how they feel God is telling them something, I always find myself being the one to remind them to test all things, and not to assume it's necessarily God, even though the other half of me knows it probably is God. I'm sure they're all thinking, "This woman has no faith!" But like you I like to make absolutely sure, and even the non-OCD side of me can't help thinking it's better that way than just assuming every single thing is God. After all, the Bible tells us to test everything.

Mitzi is right that a good way to know if it is God's voice is to make sure it lines up with the Bible, as God would never contradict His own Word. I think if we read our Bibles regularly we should come to recognize if something is jarring or if it is in harmony with God's character. God is very patient with me and gives me lots of confirmations of the same message through different Bible readings, sermons, situations and people until even I can say, "Hmm, I think He's trying to tell me something." If He wants to tell us something and we are willing to listen, I believe he will find a way in spite of all our second guessing and confused brains. Even so, everyone may go through periods where they don't hear from God or He feels distant.

Q2.
I think your experience with the bi-polar girl does sound like a spiritual gifting. But don't forget to test everything - oops, here I go again!!! Seriously, the scenario does sound like one that God would use and I don't see that Satan would gain any ground in that situation. After all, what were you doing at the time? Having a seance? No, praying! And the word of knowledge enabled you all to pray for her healing, which is good, right? I think you should pray that whatever spiritual gift God has given you, He would show you how to use it. And then step out in faith and use it. The Bible says that God gives us all different gifts for the upbuilding of His church, so we shouldn't be surprised about it. But I agree with Mitzi that it is not always the right way to go up to people and say, "God told me to tell you this." The gifts should be used with sensitivity and I believe he will also guide you in this.

May God bless you with more gifts for His glory.

Heather

 

[OptimisticSmile]

thanks guys this has been helpful. I know that if God used me that night then I can rest assured that he is in my life depite the desert of the past few months which my pastor likens to pauls 3 year abscence in which he did not write any scripture and nothing is known about him. I look at my church and I think perhaps God is teaching me through it . yesterday we did a ground breaking for our new sanctuary which replaces the old one which was destroyed 3 years to the day by hurricane Ivan. we've been displaced 3 years and faced many delays with insurence and contracters and such. we got a new pastor and things seemed to be taking off and then a month later the storm hit and took it all away for a time. when I fell into despiar my "Ivan" I was so discouraged because the year prior was the best of my life and things really came together , when It all fell apart so quickly I thought "it wasnt genuine assurence and if it all was it would have lasted" isnt it weird that I can experience that mirrors that of my church.

I believe God is distant lately and i belive he wants me to trust that he is there even though I dont sense him as I once did. I guess because of OCD im afraid that I am inable to hear his voice because my mind is cluttered.

by the way one thing that has encouraged me is knowing that a sound mind is not necessarily a mind that is at peace. when Timothy is told that the spirit is of power and a sound mind , the sound mind reffers to a disciplined mind one that is grounded in the scripture. I believe I have a sound mind and God can use me with others but I dont necessarily have peace of mind.

I would say alot of us here have sound minds.

im busy with grad coursework but i will check into the screwtape letters as I am a fan of C.S.Lewis eventually.

Im also going to try to lead a bible study group on Experiencing God:knowing and doing the will of God.

 

[gracealone]

I was so discouraged because the year prior was the best of my life and things really came together , when It all fell apart so quickly I thought "it wasnt genuine assurence.....
Same exact thing happened to me.. I was having what I would call a "mountaintop" experience with my Lord and then OCD came back into my life in full force and I immediately began to question the genuiness of my own faith.

I believe God is distant lately and i belive he wants me to trust that he is there even though I dont sense him as I once did. I guess because of OCD im afraid that I am inable to hear his voice because my mind is cluttered.

There is a song based on a Psalm of David composed by Marty Goetz that I love to sing.
Here are some of the words... "Standing at the station camped upon the battle ground - my enemy is everywhere - it seems that there's no way to win this.. so many voices speaking, telling me I'm wrong -could they be right? I have the choice to listen or to stand up strong and fight.
But the only defense that I can raise - is lifting up this anthem of your praise. Oh Lord, your lovingkindness, is everlasting, that's why I sing, My Lord your lovingkindness endures forever, and you are able to deliver me!!" (Then.).. "I hear your voice of reason telling me this battles your's not mine... and as you take it from my hands what can I do... but lift them up in sacrifice to you... "My Lord your lovingkindness is everlasting... and so I'll sing.. My Lord your lovingkindness endures forever and you are so very able to deliver me."
I love this song because it reflects how OCD makes me feel - the "cluttered thinking" that you mentioned which throws me into a state of confusion. The battle that rages in my mind against the voices/ accusations of OCD which make me question and doubt my faith. But ..Then just choosing to raise this only defense which is to continue to trust and praise him any how.. without answers, without any knowledge of what lies ahead, no vision of the distant scene, just trusting Him for one step at a time...trusting Him because He alone is worthy of our trust.


by the way one thing that has encouraged me is knowing that a sound mind is not necessarily a mind that is at peace. when Timothy is told that the spirit is of power and a sound mind , the sound mind reffers to a disciplined mind one that is grounded in the scripture. I believe I have a sound mind and God can use me with others but I dont necessarily have peace of mind.

I would say alot of us here have sound minds.

Yes..you are spot on with your understanding of this scripture. This scripture used to really upset me until I placed it within it's proper context. Timothy also had to serve God as a very young man, like you, and this probably seemed to him to be a detriment to God being able to use him. That is why Paul had to tell him, "let no man despise thy youth."

im busy with grad coursework but i will check into the screwtape letters as I am a fan of C.S.Lewis eventually.

You will love "Screwtape" it's a pretty easy read in comparison to some of his other works.

Im also going to try to lead a bible study group on Experiencing God:knowing and doing the will of God.[/quote]
Good for you!! Dive right in there and don't let OCD bully you around. Blessings, Mitzi