Have you ever had a random thought pop into your head that was so odd or unsettling you found yourself wondering, “Where did that come from?” It may be the thought to make an incredibly cruel or ugly comment. It may be an impression of a vile sexual thought or an uncharacteristically angry act. Even when you take into account your “normal” sinful self this feels over-the-top and so unlike you that it is troubling.

Writing in 1630, an Anglican minister Richard Sibbes, wrote about these types of thoughts in his book, The Bruised Reed. He says, “Some [people] are haunted with hideous representations to their imaginations, and with vile and unworthy thoughts of God, of Christ, of the word, which, as busy flies, disquiet and molest their peace.” (Sibbes, 50). These thoughts can be quite unsettling and alarming. They can cause Christians to wonder if they are deficient or if something might be wrong with them. Let me assure you, all of us experience unwanted and intrusive thoughts.

The Sources

Intrusive thoughts have two basic sources: 1.) our sinful nature and 2.) our enemy, Satan. Even though you and I are forgiven and freed from the slavery and dominion of sin, we are not freed from its continued influence on our lives. We still have a daily battle to fight against “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” (2019 Book of Common Prayer, 169). We still face trials and temptations, including unwanted sinful thoughts. The realization of our ongoing sinful nature can cause us to despair. We might think, “No one else couple possibly have these thoughts but me.” But that is simply not true. Sibbes notes, “Our nature now, so far as it is unrenewed, is so unhappily fruitful in ill thoughts….and [it is therefore] natural for it to forge sinful imaginations.” (Sibbes, 51). Basically friends, our sinful nature still works to exercise influence over us and seeks to unsettle us by sinful thoughts.

The second source of these thoughts is the enemy of our souls, Satan. Knowing our proclivities and weaknesses, He will often exploit them by intrusive thoughts. In one of the more comforting thoughts on the matter, Sibbes notes, “A pious soul is no more guilty of them than Benjamin was when Joseph’s cup was put in his sack.” (See Genesis 44:1-13). But it is also true that these unwanted thoughts and temptations mount their fiercest attacks on vulnerable areas in our lives. In these attacks Sibbes observes, “When Satan comes to us, he finds something of his own in us, which holds correspondence and has intelligence with him.” (Sibbes 50)

Therefore there are 2 distinct, yet related sources of these thoughts: our own sinfulness and Satan’s attacks on our weak areas.

The Remedy

So what can we do? Sometimes we can feel helpless against their onslaught. The first thing is to not dwell on them or nuture them in any way. Sibbes puts it this way, “These thoughts, if the soul dwell on them so long as to suck or draw from them and by them [gain] any sinful delight, then they leave a more heavy guilt upon the soul, hinder our sweet communion with God, interrupt our peace, and put a contrary relish into the soul, disposing it to greater sins.” (Sibbes 51). These thoughts are like seeds, which if nurtured, develop into full-grown sin. So refuse to dwell on, daydream about, or entertain these thoughts. Instead, recognize them and despise them.

Next, we should make our appeal to Christ as soon as these thoughts are detected. We should seek to “Complain to Christ against them, and to fly under the wings of his protection, and to desire Him to take our part against His and our enemy.” (Sibbes 50). Often our first reaction is to try and simply resist them by our own resolve –what many people call “white-knuckling”. Sibbes offers the counsel that we should, “keep our hearts closer to God, seasoning them (our hearts) with heavenly meditations in the morning, storing up good matter, so that our heart may be a good treasury, while we beg of Christ His Holy Spirit to stop that cursed issue and to be a living spring of better thoughts within us.” (Sibbes 52).

We should also recognize the fact that these intrusive thoughts can have a positive effect on us– they make us seek God all the more diligently. These unwanted thoughts and sinful inclinations bring us into a place of humility and trim back the growth of spiritual pride. In fact, it is almost a universal truth that the more we mature in Christ, the more aware we become of our sinful nature and need for humility, repentance, and forgiveness. Sibbes says, “None are so aware of corruption as those whose souls are most alive.” (Sibbes 53) Let the struggle against these thoughts drive you to Christ and not to despair. He is greater than all of them!

Conclusion

Troubling and intrusive thoughts are part-and-parcel of the Christian life. They will form a line of assault against our souls, whether they come from our own sinful nature or from our enemy. Our goal is to give them no foothold, no grip to cling to, as they try to breach our walls. See them for what they are and immediately seek the remedy of Christ himself who with a word in Matthew 4 told Satan and his tempting whispers to “Be gone!” (Matthew 4:10). Sibbes reminds us, “So He (Jesus) will command (Satan) to be gone from us, when it shall be good for us. He (the Devil) must be gone at a word. And Christ can and will likewise, in his own time, rebuke the rebellious and extravagant stirrings of our hearts and bring all the thoughts of the inner man into subjection to himself.” (Sibbes 53)