Compulsive Introspection Is Neither Humble Nor Holy

Someone shared a sad story with me recently about a person who is compulsively introspective. Another unfortunate part of the story is that this person has a large amount of influence over others and is teaching many others to live this same way.

Since we value the power of prayer, myself and the person who shared the story with me immediately prayed together for this person to see the truth.

I actually haven’t been able to get this story or this person off my mind since I’ve learned of this and in fact, woke up this morning and was so grieved I was crying, which led me to write this post.

I guarantee you this person thinks they are being both humble and holy so I’m certainly not saying they are purposely trying to hurt anyone. I know this because I myself was trapped in a thought pattern of compulsive introspection for decades…in an effort to live in humility and holiness.

Honestly though, giving up this self-focused way of thinking over 5.5 years ago now and making the switch to being Christ-conscious may be the the single most important change on my grace journey that stopped me from living a life of defeat and propelled me into victory through Jesus Christ!

Compulsive introspection is a deceptive trap of the devil. He delights in us being constantly consumed with spending our mental energy picking ourselves apart (focusing on our badness) so we have no mental energy left to focus on Jesus, His goodness and everything He has done for us through His finished work on the cross.

But, as I explained in the post I wrote and recorded an audio version of after I got free from the lie of compulsive introspection myself, Christ-Consciousness Leads To Humility.

It’s time for Jesus followers worldwide to be less consumed with themselves and become all-consumed with Jesus, His finished work on the cross, His goodness and His greatness!

Believe me, when you and I make a commitment to live like this – consumed by the very Person Of Grace – anything that needs to be changed in us will come to our attention, we will gladly repent (change our mind) and keep moving forward in the life of freedom that Jesus died to give us.

One of the saddest things this person told me about this other person of influence was that they don’t think they’ve ever heard this person mention any area of their life that they’ve been able to gain victory in through Christ Jesus. They only and always continue talking about things they struggle with and how they are continuously coming up short.

That is not the life of freedom that Jesus died to give us.

How do you think it leaves those people feeling who are sitting under this person’s influence? I bet it leaves them feeling self-focused, defeated, frustrated and desperately trying to paddle upstream – toward victory.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about being real and I actually talk about things I have struggled with or am currently struggling with often, but only for the purpose of pointing people to Jesus – Who is our only way out of bondage.

As I mentioned earlier in this post, this wasn’t always the case for me. I was compulsively introspective and condemned myself often. But finally, after 34 years of going from defeat to defeat, I began to ask myself the question that I taught others to ask in my very first speaking engagement last September.

I asked myself, “Sandra, Is Your Christianity Working For You?” 

Friends, I am certainly not perfect and I have to purpose to set aside distractions and continue in God’s grace every single day, but because of everything my wonderful Jesus has done for me and the fact that I am consumed with receiving from Him day in and day out and practicing His presence through prayer, reading and studying the Bible and simply enjoying my relationship with my Heavenly Father, my Wonderful Savior and my Precious Helper (the Holy Spirit), I can sit here and type that I am living the life of freedom Jesus died to give me.

Are you? And if not, could it possibly be that you have become so self-conscious that you have forgotten to be conscious of the One Who laid down His life for you so He could lead you into a life of triumph?

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. -2 Corinthians 2:14 (NASB)

If you would like to learn to become less self-conscious and more Christ-conscious and let Jesus lead you into that place of freedom and triumph, I encourage you to take some time to read or listen to the first post I linked here in this blog post and watch the message from my speaking engagement last September that I also linked.

Have a really good week as you remain conscious of Jesus!

And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. -2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMPC)

If you have not yet made Jesus your Savior and received the wonderful joy that His finished work on the cross has provided for you to live in, please visit my page here titled Jesus In The Driver’s Seat. On this page I explain the good news of the gospel and you will have the opportunity to pray a prayer of salvation, making Jesus your Savior! Jesus loves you and His arms are wide open!

Sandra McCollom