How do you fight intrusive thoughts?

[missmuffet]

I give everything to God first and foremost. I give my life,my heart and my mind to Him every morning.

[Willa]

On April 25, 2016 at 10:11 AM, Teditis said:

One thing might be for you to define what pornography IS... and I'm not merely speaking of the word "pornography".

But look into what it is for everyone involved (including God) so that you can see and hopefully develop a hatred towards it.

In other words find something in it that you hate about it... not merely that you know God hates it, but why He hates it.

See that the viewer begins to objectify women and see them as vehicles to satisfy sexual pleasure... there's very little "Love"

in that. Learn to know what it is to truly love another person, particularly a woman/wife. Notice how it draws you away from

realizing the type of Love that God wants us to experience. Realize that it has turned you into a fornicator and determine to

find out why that would displease God.

Also, think about what it does to the people that produce porn...the families that are devastated by it. The degrading morals

that they contribute to a failing world mindset. How that mindset has insidiously woven it's way into the very fabric of our

culture. How the sex-trade flourishes and young people are forced into the life of slaves.

Well the list goes on and on... think about it and come up with reasons that you personally don't want to be involved in it or any

part of it. Increase your fidelity to God and His will that we live a life that promotes a world view that reflects His nature.

So instead of shunning it and running away from the thoughts, embrace them and realize that you are involved in a sinful set

of behaviors that you're seeking to change. See the ugliness of the sin and let your spirit be so revolted by it that you naturally turn

from it... the Holy Spirit will guide you into that kind of growth.

This is exactly what I was thinking, Teditis.  Thank you for phrasing it so well.  God sees the people who are any part of this vile industry as lost and in need of prayer for deliverance from the pit they wallow in so they can know God's redeeming love.  My heart weeps for them

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Willa

     Yeah Sis,me too,,,it is very very sad & Teditis brought up the heart of the matter ,,,,,,,,,,            Keeping these folks in prayer

[St_Worm2]

On 4/25/2016 at 11:29 PM, Struggling said:

I hate them intrusive thoughts. They come at the most unexpected time and they always pop-up memories of the time before I was in Christ. They always bring back memories of (sorry for the word use) pornography. I've long given up on those things. And since I gave them up, I've been fighting the sin of Sexual Immorality and diminished it to the point where it only exists in my mind. Sadly, it already formed a stronghold in my mind and there, I suspect it is the source of the intrustive thoughts tempting me to return to watching (sorry again) pornography.

The good thing is that the Holy Spirit has prevented me from watching such profanity again. But as long as that stronghold exists, I'll always be in the risk of being tempted to return to watching pornography. So I need help to overcome this stronghold.

So in short, my question is: How do you fight intrusive thoughts?

And if you can answer my question: How do you control your mind?

Thank you! May God be with you!

- Your brother in Christ, Struggling.

Hi Struggling, our "thought-lives", especially those of us who were, "saved from much", can be very painful and very frustrating at times  I am, personally, very aware of the struggle that you face each day, though I am pleased to be able to tell you that it has certainly lessened greatly since I began to systematically and topically memorize God's word about 25 years ago or so. There are many other things that help ("tools" that have already been mentioned above here that I still use to this day ... not the least of which is taking each and every lousy/sinful thought, "captive", and giving it over to the Lord to deal with .. 2 Corinthians 10:5 .. and also by simply believing God, and trusting Him at His word .. see 1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7).

But the memorization of certain key Scripture verses and passages remains at the center of both the battle and the cure for me. Just like you, I loaded my pre-Christian mind with tons of lousy stuff, so the key to fighting intrusive thoughts and controlling my mind was done first and foremost by getting rid of all the garbage I collected in there over the years, and again, this is where Scripture memorization comes in. 

I'm not sure how or why it works, but when you memorize God's word, it begins to shove all that lousy stuff to the background. And as you continue, it just seems to replace it all together  The even weirder thing is, I seem to have a TON of space to remember other things now that are valuable/wholesome (see Philippians 4:8), and almost no room for the lousy stuff that none of us can avoid seeing each and every day of our lives. Dr. Chuck Swindoll promised me (and everyone else who was listening to him that day) that Scripture memorization would solve all of these kinds of problems for me and he was right (more so than I could have ever imagined, actually  ).

The other thing is, as Christians, we are indwelt by the HS and have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:12-16). And when you lock God's word into your mind (and heart), you really have to make a concerted effort to sin, because every time you try to, the HS brings any number of your memorized verses to mind that tell you exactly why you shouldn't do/think what you're about to do or think  It's like running into a spiritual brick wall 

The only drawback is this, Scripture memory work is just that .. WORK .. especially at first, so it definitely isn't for everyone (but if you're willing to commit to it there is little that will have a greater all over impact on your walk :)) So if you'd like to know how to get started, I'd be happy to help. Just send me a private message.

Blessings to you in Christ! (Numbers 6:24-26; Jude 24-25)

--David

 

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according
to Thy word. Thy word I have treasured in my heart,
that I may not sin against Thee"
Psalm 119:9,11

 

 

 

Edited May 4, 2016 by St_Worm2
Added a bit more!

[Guest Robert]

On 5/3/2016 at 10:16 PM, St_Worm2 said:

Hi Struggling, our "thought-lives", especially those of us who were, "saved from much", can be very painful and very frustrating at times  I am, personally, very aware of the struggle that you face each day, though I am pleased to be able to tell you that it has certainly lessened greatly since I began to systematically and topically memorize God's word about 25 years ago or so. There are many other things that help ("tools" that have already been mentioned above here that I still use to this day ... not the least of which is taking each and every lousy/sinful thought, "captive", and giving it over to the Lord to deal with .. 2 Corinthians 10:5 .. and also by simply believing God, and trusting Him at His word .. see 1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 6:10-18; James 4:7).

But the memorization of certain key Scripture verses and passages remains at the center of both the battle and the cure for me. Just like you, I loaded my pre-Christian mind with tons of lousy stuff, so the key to fighting intrusive thoughts and controlling my mind was done first and foremost by getting rid of all the garbage I collected in there over the years, and again, this is where Scripture memorization comes in. 

I'm not sure how or why it works, but when you memorize God's word, it begins to shove all that lousy stuff to the background. And as you continue, it just seems to replace it all together  The even weirder thing is, I seem to have a TON of space to remember other things now that are valuable/wholesome (see Philippians 4:8), and almost no room for the lousy stuff that none of us can avoid seeing each and every day of our lives. Dr. Chuck Swindoll promised me (and everyone else who was listening to him that day) that Scripture memorization would solve all of these kinds of problems for me and he was right (more so than I could have ever imagined, actually  ).

The other thing is, as Christians, we are indwelt by the HS and have been given the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:12-16). And when you lock God's word into your mind (and heart), you really have to make a concerted effort to sin, because every time you try to, the HS brings any number of your memorized verses to mind that tell you exactly why you shouldn't do/think what you're about to do or think  It's like running into a spiritual brick wall 

The only drawback is this, Scripture memory work is just that .. WORK .. especially at first, so it definitely isn't for everyone (but if you're willing to commit to it there is little that will have a greater all over impact on your walk :)) So if you'd like to know how to get started, I'd be happy to help. Just send me a private message.

Blessings to you in Christ! (Numbers 6:24-26; Jude 24-25)

--David

 

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according
to Thy word. Thy word I have treasured in my heart,
that I may not sin against Thee"
Psalm 119:9,11

 

 

 

Some good advice here.

[enoob57]

If it is a temptation you have weakness toward get up and run out of where you are and get with others in public...
Do all you can do to overcome that and watch The Lord do the rest in His pleasure toward you!  Love, Steven

[missmuffet]

God is not surprised by our intrusive thoughts. He knows all of our thoughts. We are to submit our thoughts to God. Not all of our intrusive thoughts are necessarily a sin. Our minds as a human beings are weak. The more we surround ourselves with worldly things the more the world will invade our thoughts. Do not rule out the fact that our bodies chemistry might be at work. Intrusive thoughts are also a symptom of OCD, Post-partum Depression and attention deficit disorder. If intrusive thoughts become a problem and disturb your every day activities God has provided doctors and counselors. If a counselor is chosen be sure and choose the very best Christian counselor.

[RustyAngeL]

Isaiah 26:3  says that God will keep you in perfect peace if your mind is stayed on Him.  

We all that intrusive thoughts, we just have to turn them away with the truth of His Word.