How to understand unwanted thoughts, without misreading your heart.
5 Minute Read
Online, some top search queries regarding intrusive, unwanted thoughts can be:
“Is it a sin to have intrusive thoughts?”
“Blasphemous thoughts, am I sinning?”
“OCD thoughts sin Christianity”
Underneath these questions there is often a deeper fear: ‘Did I just sin?’ or ‘Does this say something about me as a believer?”
Dirty, Bad, & Ugly Thoughts
These thoughts don’t feel neutral––they feel like they say something about you; and maybe they do, but we’ll get to that later.
They can feel:
“Offensive”
“Wrong”
“Out of line with your beliefs”
“Gross”
“Twisted”
And because of that, they don’t just create anxiety––they create a real concern about your standing before God.
It’s not just about the thought.
It’s about what the thought might say about you.
Ashley’s Bad Thoughts
She had dealt with intrusive thoughts before, but for Ashley these crossed a new line.
She would have been embarrassed and humiliated if anyone could see the reel of images and scenarios that had passed through her mind.
“Why would that even come into my brain?”
“Does that mean something about my heart?”
“Would someone who really believes in Jesus really think like that?”
And once those questions started, the thoughts seemed to carry more and more weight.
Thinking ≠ Choosing
Not every thought reflects your desires.
Not every thought reflects your intentions.
Not every thought reflects your heart.
Understand, some thoughts arrive without an invitation and without agreement.
And sometimes those thoughts are very difficult to let go.
Feeling Guilty & Ashamed
Ashley was really, really frustrated.
Not just at the thoughts, but at herself.
And she was embarrassed to share her thoughts:
“It’s just so bizarre.”
“This is going to sound crazy.”
“This is going to be the weirdest, strangest thing anyone has ever told you.”
Eventually, she would share the thought with me.
She felt unique in this suffering.
She assumed she was alone in having this struggle.
I wish she could understand how non-unique her thoughts really were.
I wish she could understand how not alone she was in living with this.
Regardless, the sharing was usually followed by: “Why did I have that thought?”
Thoughts like those and others can be very disorienting.
Ashley began to guess at the answer: “If they’re in my brain, they must be mine.”
She felt so guilty, and would barely give any more detail.
This is how many feel when they describe their own thoughts and situations.
Is Ashley Broken?
Yes, but not in the way she and you may think.
Is Ashley uniquely broken because she has these thoughts? No.
But like every one of us, Ashley lives as a broken person in a broken world.
And that is good news for Ashley.
From a biblical view, Ashley is not uniquely broken. We all live with the effects of sin and the fall.
God’s view is that we are all fractured in our humanity. (Romans 3:23)
Ever since the fall in Genesis 3, humanity has lived in a world deeply affected by sin and brokenness.
Earlier, we gave the question that many ask, “Does this say something about me?”
Yes.
The biblical view is that we suffer on earth not just from our own mistakes and sins and actions but also as a result of the brokenness of everything as a whole.
In other words, the world doesn’t function the way that it was designed to.
Things are busted.
Diseases and health issues are everywhere.
Your mind and body aren’t immune from that reality.
This is actually hopeful news for Ashley.
Difference Between Cause & Effect
The existence of a thought, doesn’t automatically mean something like: “I must want to have these thoughts.”
The arrival of an unwanted thought can involve many factors, some known and some unknown.
Everyone to some degree has some form of unwanted thoughts.
So maybe, these thoughts are a general reality of living in a broken world.
And really, Ashley is struggling with these thoughts sticking, not because she’s extra broken.
But because she recognizes these thoughts as bad, and they goes against everything she believes in.
The discomfort, resistance, and desire for it not to be there also says something too.
That is something significant to always keep in your mind.
Hope For Today
In response, she gives them far too much thought and attention.
The content may be disturbing, but that does not mean Ashley has to build her life around analyzing it.
But that does not mean she has to live there.
There is a difference between something being thought and something being acted on.
Ashley has a choice regarding these thoughts.
But the choice is not whether to have them or not have them.
No.
The choice is how she responds to the thoughts.
When she tries real hard to diagnose meaning.
Or to discover their source.
She spirals out.
Intrusive thoughts often attach themselves to things that matter to you deeply.
Your faith
Your values
Your beliefs
That can make you give them far more weight than they deserve.
Ashley felt like the Bible called her to renew her mind and set aside evil things.
But the way to renewal is not done by dwelling on how much you wish the thoughts would go away.
Ashley had to learn to allow the thoughts she didn’t like to be there.
To be there, and not engage with them.
This Might Seem Counterintuitive to Faith
She tried everything to rid herself of these thoughts.
She threw Bible verses at them.
She tried to think a “good thought” every time a thought arrived.
But this wasn't the answer, because faith did not require her to neutralize every unwanted thought.
What she was doing was actually not helpful at all.
Her attempts to get rid of the thoughts were actually keeping her attention centered on them.
Faith in this situation is saying:
“I don't have to determine exactly why this thought arrived.”
“This thought will not get a response out of me today.”
“I will read the Bible and pray every day and reflect on truth. But to know Jesus better, not as a magic wand to get the thoughts to go away.”
Faith looks like moving forward, trusting in the gracious redeeming love of Christ even when everything is thrown at you.
Even when circumstances aren’t what you hoped for.
Even if the thoughts never go away.
That really is the truth to reflect on. EVEN IF.
“Even if these thoughts arrive, my standing before God isn’t found in them being there or not being there.”
“Even if I never fully understand why these thoughts arrived, they don't get to direct how I live.”
“Even if they demand my attention, I can return my focus to the responsibilities of the day and live for God.”
So, does the mere presence of an unwanted intrusive thought mean you've sinned? No.
A thought arriving in your mind is not the same thing as choosing, embracing, or acting upon it.
But they are a sign of the brokenness that one day Christ will heal.
And you don’t have to stay stuck, in the here and now.
There is a different way to respond to these thoughts.
If you’d like to keep reading, you can find more here → Articles
And if talking it through would help you, you’re always welcome to reach out and schedule a one-on-one meeting to walk through this together.
