Dealing With OCD per the Bible
What common spiritual issues might lead to the experience of OCD?
Because OCD is really an anxiety problem, it’s not surprising that the Bible has much to say about the spiritual roots of OCD. Remember, in the midst of your struggle with OCD, your desires, thoughts, and actions are revealing what you are really worshipping—what is most important to you and what you treasure above all else. Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV). So what are the things that OCD strugglers typically value or “treasure?”
The need for certainty is perhaps most common. You might feel unable to live with any bit of uncertainty. You want total assurance and certain knowledge: “I must be sure that the back door is locked.” And “I must be certain that I’ve done everything possible to decontaminate my countertop.” Compulsive behaviors such as checking and washing are attempts to erase doubt and boost a sense of certainty. But what happens? Reducing or controlling anxiety becomes an end unto itself and so begins a vicious cycle. (“How do I know I’ve cleaned the floor enough? How can I be sure? Better to mop it one more time than to experience this gnawing anxiety…”)
Of course, not all doubt is sin. It’s not sinful merely to ask, “Have I locked the door?” and to check if you have. But this becomes a sinful struggle when the desire to be sure becomes a demanding tyrant that generates anxiety and leads to compulsive, controlling behaviors that make it impossible for you to focus on what God is calling you to do: love Him and love others (Luke 10:27).
How does the Bible speak to your quest for certainty and your futile attempts to control your world through compulsive behaviors?
- Remember: your reason for being certain about anything doesn’t come from within you; it comes from God as He reveals himself in Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:9-16).
- God tells you enough so that you can live responsibly, but He doesn’t give you complete knowledge. He is the only one who knows everything (Job 38-41).
- Truth, assurance, and certainty have their foundation in a promise-keeping God. And His promises come clothed in the form of a person, the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, in whom all of God’s promises are “yes!” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
- The antidote to enslaving doubt is to gaze long and hard at the person of Jesus, on whom your faith rests. It’s not the strength of your faith that counts, but the One in whom you place your faith. Reliance upon Jesus allows you to proceed in faith, even when some doubts remain (Mark 9:14-32, especially 9:24).
- God knows you completely and has detailed oversight of your lives (Psalm 139; Luke 12:22-34).
Another common spiritual theme in OCD is an overactive sense of responsibility. This heart dynamic is especially active if you struggle with aggressive or horrific impulses. When you have a thought that you might do something wrong, you feel the same weight of anxiety, responsibility, and guilt as if you actually did the deed. This often leads to compulsive behaviors that attempt to “pay for,” “neutralize,” or prevent the imagined sin. Not surprisingly, this theme is closely tied with perfectionism, the idea that your performance is critical for avoiding negative consequences, for yourself or others.
Again, the Bible has much to say about these concerns:
- These intrusive thoughts are not temptations to sin in the true sense of the word. While the horrific thought of picking up a knife and stabbing your husband could only occur in a fallen world, such a thought doesn’t fit the description offered in James 1:13-15 of being tempted by our desires. Why feel guilty for something you didn’t do and in fact, don’t even want to do?
- As a sinner, you are capable of things far worse than you have imagined. And yet, where sin (even potential sin!) increases, grace increases all the more (Romans 5:20). God is not surprised by your bizarre thoughts!
- Jesus has kept the whole law and paid the penalty for your sins. There is nothing you can do to add to His work (Hebrews 10:11-18; Hebrews 7:26-27).
What about the brain-based aspect of OCD?
It shouldn’t surprise you that certain areas of your brain are more active when you’re struggling with obsessions and compulsions. The more you obsess and the more you practice your compulsions, the more entrenched those neural patterns can become. This is because your body and spirit are bound together. But this is also why tackling the spiritual roots of OCD can change those entrenched neural patterns and decrease the frequency of your intrusive, obsessive thoughts. Learning to trust in Christ for your certainty, your perfection, and your forgiveness can change the way your brain functions.
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
There are a number of practical steps you can take to overcome obsessions and compulsions. Consider the following three pronged approach:
1. Build confidence and trust in God's care and provision in a daily, proactive way.
Think of this as training in “peace-time” that will give you a firm foundation for fighting your battle with obsessions and compulsions when they occur. How can you do this?
- Recognize that OCD is a trust issue. Do you realize that your trust in the person, character, and work of God is what will break the obsessive-compulsive connection
- Grow in that trust by meditating on Psalms that center on God’s care for you. Read through Psalms 23, 46, 62, 91, 104, 121, and 139. Meditate on at least one every day. But make sure that your use of these psalms doesn’t become another ritual! Remember, your goal is to deepen your relationship with God, not to create another rule.
- Focus your thoughts on the finished, perfect work of Jesus Christ by reading through the book of Hebrews, particularly chapters 7-10.
- Meditate on the love of God. Nothing (not even your worst case scenario) can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:28-39).
- Make a list of fifty things you are certain about. Then thank God for the many ways He is helping you to live without fear and doubt. Ask Him to extend the borders of your certainty and trust into your struggle with your obsessions and compulsions.
- Recognize the ways in which your obsessions and compulsions keep you from loving those closest to you. Focus on these real sins, instead of the potential sins you have imagined in your mind. Then turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith (1 John 1:9).
- Meditate on your status as a son or daughter of the living God, on whom His favor rests. (Galatians 4-4-7; 1 John 3:1) Remembering your identity as God’s favored child will bring freedom from the tyranny of over-responsibility and perfectionism.
2. Address obsessive thoughts when they enter your mind.
- Learn to "devalue" your obsessive thought. Just because you have a repeated thought doesn't mean you have to take it seriously and counteract it. The reality is that you take your thoughts too seriously (1 Corinthians 4:3-4).
- Recognize you are overestimating the threat of danger. If your door really is unlocked, how likely is it that harm will occur? How likely is it, really, that you will stab your child with a knife? This is part of the irrational way you are responding to your thoughts.
- Go to the Lord in prayer when a thought comes. Instead of trying to suppress the thought—which rarely works—ask your Father in heaven to pour out His grace and mercy in your time of need. Ask Him to fill you with trust and confidence regarding His love, His oversight of your life, His wise and good plan for your life (the very truths on which you have been meditating, as described above).
- Recognize that it’s not only possible, but normal, to live with a mixture of faith and doubt. Let the prayer of Mark 9:24 be your prayer as well: “I believe; help my unbelief.”
3. Take steps to weaken the temptation to engage in compulsive behavior.
- In the midst of rising doubt and anxiety, let go of your quest for certainty and choose instead to trust God's oversight of your life. Freedom comes when you give up your right to control your world and rest in the One who holds all things--even you!--in His hands (Matthew 6:26-34).
- Each time you refrain from acting out a compulsion when faced with an obsessive thought, you will weaken the obsession-compulsion cycle. Research shows that if, instead of immediately trying to quiet the anxiety induced by your obsessive thought, you hold off on doing your typical compulsive behavior for 20 minutes or more, you will weaken the frequency and insistency of your obsessive thoughts.
- In addition to delaying your compulsive ritual, you can also shorten it (wash your hands for 20 seconds rather than 1 minute), or do it differently (to demonstrate that no harm comes from altering your typical compulsion).
- Focus on the fact that God gives you good works to do each day, and seek them out (Ephesians 2:10). Then your life will have an outward focus on God and others, instead of an inward focus on your struggle with OCD. As you choose to act in love toward others rather than act out your compulsion, you will find the power of the obsessive-compulsive cycle loosened.
- When you fail to refrain from your compulsive behavior, rather than hang out in a place of guilt, self-loathing, and condemnation, go to the One who understands the intensity of your struggle and who richly pours out grace, mercy, and forgiveness in your time of need (Hebrews 4:15-16).
Two final but very important thoughts: First, tell others about your struggle so that they may join you in prayer. Many people struggle with OCD in silence and shame. If you’re one of those people, share your burden with several mature believers. Second, if the obsessions and compulsions are severe enough to interfere with daily life and relationships, seek out a seasoned counselor with experience in ministry to those with OCD who will walk this difficult road of change with you.
Although overcoming obsessions and compulsions is not an easy task, God promises that the gospel-centered truths of the Bible (the Word) along with His presence (the Spirit) are the resources that will allow you to face your doubts, fears, and anxious thoughts head on.
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