How To Deal With Intrusive Thoughts As A Christian

Colossians 3:2

Here are 3 reasons God allows intrusive and unwanted thoughts.

1. To Cause Y'all to Deal with Your Fears that Are Causing the Intrusive Thoughts

The term "intrusive thoughts" is really a psychological term that refers to unwanted thoughts which cause emotional distress and discomfort. It would be a fault to presume that you could completely end all intrusive thoughts. Rather, a more realistic goal is to learn how to deal with them quickly and to learn how to not let them progress further and take over your mind in means that you really can stop.

Ane of the reasons people get unwanted thoughts is because they manifest from hidden fears within us. I believe God allows these thoughts to happen in usa as a manner of pointing out the deeper fears within in us that God wants to help us overcome.

For example, if yous fearfulness what other people recollect of you, y'all might get lots of intrusive thoughts nearly making a fool of yourself or doing something inappropriate in public which would brand people expect down on you. If you lot are afraid of decease, you could get lots of intrusive and vehement thoughts well-nigh dying. If you have fears regarding your sexuality, you may feel lots of unwanted sexual thoughts that disturb you. Just again, many times these thoughts occur because our deepest fears are manifesting them in our minds.

So one style to cease these thoughts when they come up up is by asking yourself, "What is the fright behind these thoughts?" When you lot can rationally identify the fear that these thoughts are manifesting from, you can then end the thoughts by addressing your fears.

This is so of import because we focus on what we fear. Little children don't pay attention to the dangers around them considering they don't know they should have a healthy fear of speeding cars, sharp objects, or strange people. Adults are more aware of their environment because we accept a healthy fright of danger.

Besides, one of the reasons the Bible tells us to fright God the most is because nosotros should focus on God the nearly. Since we focus on what we fear, the simply manner we will focus on God more than other things is if nosotros accept a healthy respect for his say-so. For every bit Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "And do not fear those who impale the torso but cannot kill the soul. Rather fearfulness him who can destroy both soul and body in hell."

2. God Allows Intrusive Thoughts to Train You to Ignore Temptation and Focus on Truth Instead

As I said in the beginning, the goal should not be to completely stop all unwanted thoughts because sometimes that is something that is out of our control. Sometimes unwanted thoughts just pop into our heads out of nowhere.

Nonetheless, what we do after we have these thoughts is in our command. It's a lot like temptation compared to actually sinning. The Bible does non control us to not be tempted. Being tempted is oft outside of our control sometimes. However, we do have the option to resist that temptation. Temptation tin popular upwardly at any indicate but we never take to give into information technology. The selection to sin is ours alone.

Likewise, when nosotros have unwanted thoughts, we sometimes brand a fault by focusing too much on these thoughts which simply enhances their negative furnishings on the states. If nosotros start feeling bad for having crazy thoughts, it'due south a lot like feeling bad for being exposed to a temptation. Certainly we should avert temptation when nosotros can, and nosotros should avoid thinking virtually bad things when we tin. Simply sometimes temptation just comes into our life simply as an unwanted thought tin come into our minds.

So to dwell too much on those thoughts that y'all did not actively invite into your mind tin can actually make things worse sometimes. Simply similar temptations that we need to simply ignore and keep moving by then we do not requite into actually sinning, sometimes the path to overcoming unwanted thoughts is to ignore them and focus on the good things God is calling y'all to exercise right and so.

In fact, if we don't learn to ignore and just move on quickly rather than praying for hours and hours every time we have an unwanted thought, we can actually exist giving into an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. An OCD cycle is when you obsessively have a idea or a want, and so yous feel like you have to compulsively perform a ritual to stop that unwanted thought or desire. For example, if y'all take an unwanted sexual thought, if you and then feel the demand to confess this thought 10 times, pray, and quote a Scripture each time you have this thought, you could end up performing this ritual 50 times a day.

While I'g non proverb information technology is incorrect to pray and quote Scripture to overcome unwanted thoughts, you have to be careful yous are not creating an OCD cycle in your life. Sometimes God will lead you to just ignore that unwanted thought and motility on because again, being exposed to bad things is not a sin, but we can sin when we requite in and dwell on those unwanted thoughts. The more you lot ignore them and less you respond with the compulsive beliefs, oft the less yous will experience the obsessive triggers to begin with.

Notice what James four:7 states, "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from yous." When you feel tempted by the devil, the Bible does not say you accept to recite a 15-minute prayer each time. Sometimes you lot just need to ignore him (i.east. "resist") and so he volition just go abroad when you submit to God. The aforementioned is true with unwanted thoughts. Sometimes the more than you lot focus on them the more power yous give them.

Over again, of class nosotros should recite Scripture and pray about overcoming temptation, sins, and unwanted thoughts. But in that location is a balance here. Sometimes the path to overcoming evil is to stand and fight it and sometimes the path to overcome evil is to completely avert it and ignore it. For every bit Colossians iii:2 states, "Set your minds on things that are in a higher place, not on things that are on earth."

iii. God Allows Unwanted Thoughts to Help Y'all Let Go of Perfection and Love People Correct Where You Are At

So much more could exist said about this important topic of overcoming unwanted and intrusive thoughts. I remember one of the almost of import factors to consider, still, is the connection betwixt unwanted thoughts and are desire for perfection.

When nosotros want everything to be perfect, our minds are consumed with the fearfulness, "What if ______ happens?" Sometimes our desire for perfection tin can be so strong, we spend the majority of our lives thinking about living rather than actually living and interacting with other people.

When you let get of the false dream that everything tin exist perfect, you volition gratuitous yourself to experience real life – the expert and the bad. Eventually you only accept to take that life will ever be messy. Certain things volition ever be out of your control. Somethings will work out the way you desire and somethings volition go terribly incorrect – and there's really nothing you can do nigh it much of the time.

However, when you lot fully take this and bargain with this harsh reality, it can really gear up you free. You will so begin to loosen your grip on life. You will stop trying so hard to make everything fit into your little boxes and y'all will merely let them exist what they are. And almost importantly, when you realize much of life is out of your control, this volition actually empower yous to love other people much amend as well.

Just when nosotros are fixated on everything going perfect, oft our minds will exist consumed with all kinds of intrusive and unwanted worries. Rather than spending and so much emotional energy and thoughts on imagining what someone might exercise, when you just cull to love them and and then allow them to react however they want, all of a sudden your mind tin can relax and many of the unwanted thoughts just cease.

Sometimes we just have to simplify everything and only do what Jesus said in John 15:12, "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

Source: https://applygodsword.com/3-biblical-ways-to-stop-intrusive-and-unwanted-thoughts/

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