For Christians with OCD, uncertainty can commonly center on spiritual and religious doubts. Learn how focusing on the unchanging promises of God can be the bedrock of your healing, even when you can’t untangle your thoughts. The following guest article is by Meghan Newkirk. Join my free newsletter to be the first to receive articles like this, events, eBooks, and more: www.justinkhughes.com/getunstuck

The Torture of Untangling Your Thoughts

The desire to solve the mysteries contained in our thoughts is one of the many ways OCD can torture a sufferer. There is a deep fear of what will happen when a thought is not accurately understood or untangled. Questions loom around every thought, while potential scenarios for what they could mean about us fuel the need to dissect every unwanted musing.

When ERP Challenges Your Faith

What do these thoughts mean about me as a human being? What am I capable of doing, feeling, or wanting? Am I a good person or not with thoughts like these? 

As a Christian with OCD, questions like the ones above strike a nerve on an even deeper level and often get challenged when faced with ERP therapy methods. When in proper ERP therapy, we are told that we can’t know all the things we are so desperately trying to figure out about our thoughts.

We are asked in therapy to sit in the uncertainty and not try to untangle what these thoughts mean about who we are as people. We are asked to leave them alone. As a result, Christians with OCD can begin to ask even more questions in response to the uncertainties we are asked to sit in while in therapy.

The Counselor’s Dilemma: Fear Ignited

Are my thoughts sins? What sins am I capable of committing? Is God really working in and through me when I have thoughts like these? Am I offending God with my thoughts? Is there an unforgivable sin that I’m capable of committing? Are my thoughts an indicator that I’m not truly a believer? 

Oftentimes, a counselor’s response to these types of questions can ignite more fear in Christians with OCD. Hearing that we can’t know how God feels about us, or expressing doubt about God’s ability to change us for the better, strikes at the heart of our need for Jesus and feels wrong.

We know that God desires us to bring our sins and shortcomings to Him, so when we are told that we must accept the reality of never knowing the whole truth about how God feels about us or how God has changed us for the better, it can be crushing. Even when scrupulous themes are common, the ERP model can raise many first-time doubts that can feel discouraging.  Are there any absolutes we can rely on when treatment says there aren’t any?

The Absolute Truth You Can Lean On

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

Yes! We can know that the promises of God are absolutely true and unchanging, even when we aren’t sure about anything else. We will not know all the ins and outs of the sins we may commit or the meaning of all the thoughts we ever have, BUT we know that our God is unchanging. He promises to be with us, no matter what we face, and that is certain. Sitting in that reality during therapy still may not feel comforting in the moment, but that doesn’t make it any less authentic.

In a world where sin seasons every corner, we know, as believers, that God does not leave us to face uncertainty alone. Christ has conquered!! Our OCD battles are already won in Him. Even when our thoughts disturb us, leaving us wondering if we are still His, we are promised that He will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what we fear about ourselves.

More Than OCD: Resting in Your Identity

We are children of God way more than we are Christians with OCD. This is a fact that, even when we might feel uncertain about it, remains true no matter what our feelings may say about it. With this truth as the bedrock of my therapy, I can face any uncertainty or unwanted thought, knowing that God doesn’t lie and that His promises about me—and Himself—are rock-solid.

Meghan Newkirk is a North Carolina native who graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Communication. She was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder while in college and has learned how to combat it with counseling and medication. As a young child Meghan enjoyed writing short stories and imagining make believe tales for her dolls. Her first book came after feeling called to communicate her experiences with OCD to her children in a way that would be encouraging, but entertaining. She wants to communicate her need for Jesus and how He used her mental difficulties as a way to bring her to Himself. Meghan feels called to write fictional stories about characters who suffer from mental struggles, but who also find their ultimate hope in Christ while using the tools of the mental health professionals He provides. Loving Naomi is her first full book. (Affiliate link where Justin K. Hughes may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through the link.)

👉https://www.meghannewkirkwrites.com/👈