Is OCD a physical or spiritual disorder?
OCD is known as the doubting disease. And no doubt: my OCD doubts everything…from locking the door, to my salvation, to sin, and basically to everything I know. Doubt is a terrible thing; after all, “…the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6).
So if I’m trying to get over my OCD, the question I must ask myself is this: what is the opposite of doubt? The answer is simple: faith.
But this sounds so easy! Too easy! After all, what about the brain scans that show a difference in people’s brains…those with OCD and those without? And my answer would be this: I think OCD is both physical and spiritual. Let me explain…
You see I believe fear triggers parts of our brains, and what we see in these brain scans are evidence for what we are experiencing inside, spiritually. The more fear we have let inside our lives, the worst our physical symptoms can become; hence, we see crazy abnormalities in brain scans.
But then, if we look deeper into the problem, we want to find the root. It’s kind of like science in regards to the creation of the world. We hear about this explosion that happened – we see the consequence, a world created. But we need the source – and God is no doubt that source. I believe He is the one who started the “Big Bang” so to speak. When I look at OCD, I see the consequence in the physical realm, but what started the OCD? That is when I need to look at the spiritual realm.
I know that as I let fear replace my faith, bad things happen. I start drifting from my Bible reading and prayers. I simply lose faith. And interestingly enough, Paul warms to “Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). One of the large pieces of armor is the shield of faith.
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16
No wonder I feel so attacked. No wonder I’m suffering physically. We are in spiritual warfare every day. It manifests in the physical realm.
And as much as I appreciate the research that has been done with this “disorder,” I can’t help but see struggles that anyone else faces…a lack of faith. The only difference here is that I believe those of us with OCD have let a lack of faith continue in our lives for a long time/allowed a dramatic shift…hence, major brain physical issues have occured. But what if, little by little, we reclaimed our faith in God? What if we began to saturate our lives in the Word, prayer, and thanksgiving? That’s the last thing the enemy of our souls wants us to do. That is why I believe he attacks these very areas. As the saying goes… pray hardest when it’s hardest to pray. We need to fight back purposefully. Just like we may have slowly backslidden without “feeling” it; we also can rise up in victory without “feeling” it at first. But I believe that if you and I aim towards this goal, we will see dramatic, positive effects on our walk with God and the end of our OCD.
And while someone might say, how can you undermine this disease and say you simply need to have more faith? My answer would be that although you may help the symptoms (which is good), we must never neglect to get to the root of the problem. If we fail to do so, we are only kidding ourselves, allowing our OCD to eventually get stronger.
Faith is simple, but it’s not passive—it requires work. That’s where free will comes into play—and that could almost be a post in and of itself. Furthermore, there’s another obstacle in our way: this world with all its desires. If I’m honest with myself, I have not made God the number one focus and love of my life. Please forgive me, Lord.
During this past season of my life, I’ve lost my job, lost a nearly 5-month relationship headed towards marriage and ministry, and almost lost my family. If anyone could be classified as severe OCD, it would be me. I tried secular approaches to getting this fixed, even risking blaspheming my God, to find a quick solution. And yet, I’ve come to this simple conclusion: Faith.
During this coronavirus, I have had the time to seek healing and come back to my First Love. The world is enticing, and as someone in their twenties, I can say how hard it is to not become worldly. At any age, the temptation is still there.
However, I need to remember this: I have sought the perfect job, the perfect romantic relationship…and I was left with nothing. Nothing.
Don’t get me wrong, a good job and a husband/wife is a wonderful blessing…however, if you’re like me and you begin to put the blessing over the One who blesses, you’re likely to end up empty-handed…the things of this world slipping through your fingertips.
Here is a prayer I am praying over myself. You can join me if you want to:
God,
I’m sorry for the times I have made things of this world idols in my heart. Sometimes it is hard to love you more than the things of this world. The things I think will make me happy ultimately lead to the opposite effect—depression and anxiety. I’m not perfect; I realize that, but I’m thankful that Your grace is sufficient. I am just a tiny human being; You are the Creator of the universe. I understand that something is desperately wrong in my faith life. I have let the enemy steal my joy—steal my prayer life and my Bible reading. I’ve been wounded badly in battle. I have been tested and yet my faith has been weak. But I know that the enemy must be attacking me so hard because He knows His time is short and that I can do great things for your Kingdom. If only I can turn my fear into faith what amazing things could be done for You! Please do not let my heart get conceited. In fact, I thank you for this OCD because it humbles me. Sometimes, our struggles are blessings in disguise. You don’t cease to amaze me. When I am healed (I am saying this in faith), I have a wonderful story to tell of Your marvelous deeds. If you can save a wretched sinner like me, You can do anything. No one else on this earth can offer me what You can give – Your amazing peace. I ask for your Holy Spirit to come into my life. Guide me, love me, so I can love others…not worshipping them but being a good example of the power You can show in anyone’s life—to heal them also. Thank you for this task You have given me.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Good resources:
A MUST-WATCH: https://youtu.be/io0hklXvP7s
Good Faith Song (if this music style is not your choice, find another song you can relate to): https://youtu.be/tt8cSFTdJuE