Can a Christina have intrusive thoughts & still be a Christian?
- Jane Isley
- Mar 26
- 5 min read
Updated: May 6
My experiences with this and no your faith is not flawed, and your salvation is not on the line.
“You must not have real faith in God, or He’d have fixed you by now.”
I used to secretly worry about this and doubt myself all the time. Was I truly not “faithful enough,” or did I not “pray enough” because I still had intrusive thoughts?
I’m here to tell you that’s BS. It's about the biggest pile you could find.
For those unsure of what the complexity of intrusive thoughts are I recommend reading this first, Advancing Health.
I have dealt with intrusive thoughts since I was a child, it straight-up sucks. What's even more exhausting is the judgment I’ve gotten from people over the years, and to be completely honest — it’s one thing to get ignorant comments from a nonbeliever, but it’s a completely different story getting ignorant comments of any kind from a Christian when you too are a Christian.
Here’s the truth. You are, in fact, still a Christian, and your faith and trust are not in question by me or God because you have intrusive thoughts or struggle with any mental health condition. Your faith is not flawed, and your salvation is not on the line. It took me years of self-sabotage and misery to realize that sometimes, people should just keep their opinions to themselves.
Well-meaning Christians or not, they should not be passing any judgment on your mental health.
I want you to think of it this way: Would they say, “Well, you're just not praying enough” if you had diabetes? There’s a pretty good chance the answer is going to be no. (Minus the few fringe Christians who would say yes, but we’re going to ignore those.)
Don’t let their voices become more intrusive thoughts.
We already have enough to deal with when we get hit out of nowhere, we don’t need their voices mingled in there. We only need two voices, ours and God’s.
(I'd better clarify this right away — if you're on meds, stay on them. If you need help, go and get help. God gave us medicine for a reason, there’s nothing wrong with medication for our mental health. I am on medication, and it doesn’t diminish my faith or demonstrate a lack of faith because I’m taking something.)
Back to two voices.
Now that I clarified that, let’s get back to the only voices that should matter when mental health things are happening to you because no one has the right to subtitle your relationship with God.
I debated how to approach this next part. Basic suggestions or I could be real. I’m going with real.
We already know it's exhausting when our brain literally isn’t working right. But don’t sit there and pick apart where your faith “went wrong.” You have done nothing wrong; it’s something you have, not something you did.
It’s how you handle it that’s the key.
By the way, I use these strategies not just for when I get hit with intrusive thoughts but also for my anxiety, PTSD, and when I’m overwhelmed.
Acknowledge that it's happening, and don’t try and hide it from yourself or others. If you have safe people you can talk to about what’s going on. Most people will “mask,” to some degree. I’m guilty of this myself, I just learned over time not to have that mask on so tight that God couldn’t come in.
This can be both the easiest and the hardest thing to do next, talk to Jesus.
He is our counselor, literally, that is one of His roles for us. Notice how I say “talk to Him” and not pray; there is a reason for that. While prayer is a must in our lives, it was a game-changer for me when I realized out that I could just talk to Him like I'd talk to you in person. (Which is also prayer btw if your wondering, it's the mental shift that's key in certain situations.)
It took me from praying for something to having this two-way conversation where I felt cared for and secure and could express myself in ways I had never done before. If you haven’t tried this yet, I would highly suggest it.
When I am struggling, I absolutely need to get what’s in my head out of there. I have to talk through those thoughts and talk them out of me, if I don’t, things get worse.
Jesus offers this outlet to us with no judgment, rejection, or hourly fee.
I take as much time as I need and just talk to Jesus. Sometimes out loud, sometimes in my head, but either way, I open up and start clearing the clutter out, and I don’t hold back.
He knows that we all need to talk sometimes and that keeping things in without a release valve is not good; we all know this. He is willingly offering His ear and heart to us for this reason.
If all of us who struggle weren’t “faithful” enough, then why would one of God’s descriptions for His son be “Wonderful Counselor?”
It’s an honest question to ask of those who would use the Bible in such a way against anyone who deals with any mental health diagnosis, It is also something to consider if you struggle in secret and doubt yourself.
God does not love us any less if we are struggling, and it absolutely does not mean our faith is lacking in any way. Even if you have never received the type of criticism I and others have received and simply internally wonder and doubt yourself, you are not at fault for something you did not ask for.
It takes more strength and grit to go to God in your worst moments and demonstrate your faith than you realize.
If you are up to reading something else, please read 6 People in the Bible Who Struggled With Their Mental Health.
I want to emphasize that I am not against therapy, doctors, treatments, or medication ever. I do/have done all three willingly. I am not directing anyone to stop any treatments. I encourage you to reach out and get help if you are struggling. You don’t have to do this alone and without help. I’m just sharing what I experienced and learned to do when I’m in a period of struggle and want to pass it on.
First published in Know Thyself, Heal Thyself on Medium.
You can visit me at Faithful Writers on Medium.
You can also visit me on Substack.
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