ROCD? RELIGIOUS OCD? In denial?

I am a Christian and your thoughts definitely sound like ocd! You can’t simply trust your conscience or “gut feeling” when you have ocd! Comments like the one above keep people stuck in bondage to their anxiety, I’ve definitely been through it before. Felt like I had to break up with my then-girlfriend because she wasn’t Catholic, it was debilitating and felt like God was putting pressure on me, but I worked through it and didn’t give up. Spoiler alert, fast forward and we’ve been happily married for over 2 years! Christianity and science-based psychology can both be true at the same time!

You are assuming a lot about her situation here ^ This man may not be healthy for her to be with. If she isn’t prioritizing her relationship with Jesus then that always takes first step. If he isn’t, then it may not be time to be dating.

Was meant more as a general statement than an assumption of her specific situation (which only her and God knows). Beth, I truly believe that if God wants you to break up, He will show you clear red flags with him or use other external factors/circumstances to show you. Don’t trust feelings alone, they aren’t facts!!

Maybe going to church with your boyfriend (if you haven’t already) could be helpful. He’d be right there with you. Writing out why your boyfriend is important to you and why going to church is important to you could be helpful too. OCD tends to target the things we love/believe in, so writing out what you feel might help give you clarity about what you’re feeling in general and remind you why these things are positive in your life.

Hello Beth, Thank you for sharing this, I am sorry to hear that you are feeling these things, it sounds very tiring and confusing. I would not call this OCD, I would say that your conscience is making you aware of some frightening realities. That death is coming for us all, that there will be a judgement day before God, and that without God’s help and grace, we all will be guilty before Him because we have fallen short…it is a rightfully fearful thing to be standing before the God who created all things and be guilty. Beth, I would listen to your conscience and use it as an indicator from God to consider your life and what is truly important.

Here is the good news: although we all are rightfully guilty of rebelling against God, He sent His son, Jesus, who lived a perfect, guiltless life, and died on the cross to remove our guilt and penalty of hell. No one is saved by their good works or good life, but as a gift from God because of His love for us. IT IS BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH THAT WE ARE SAVED, not by works so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8).

So the question for you to ask yourself is: do I truly have faith and believe in Jesus? Do I trust He is who He says He is, do I believe that He died for my sins to save me from death and hell? If you can answer HONESTLY yes to these questions, then you are saved and do not have to fear death and hell at all! God will rescue you from your suffering and bring you safely to heaven! We are saved by faith not our good lives (this is the good news of the gospel). Come back to your first love of Jesus. He does not want to rob you of joy in this life. We all will suffer, life is hard, but there is nothing truly good and lasting apart from Jesus. Everything on this earth will fade away but He will not. He is ready and willing to forgive you and loves you so much, don’t hide from His call to you! I have to add this though, and you may not like it: He will call you away from your sin, and you will have to give it up (we will continue to fail as followers of Him, but He wants us to be holy as He is holy, and that is where true life is found, we have to trust that.)

Thank you again for sharing this very vulnerable message with us! I care about you!