Pressure on chest feeling

[JacobVY]

I hope this is the right "Topic thread" for my situation. I have been in a cycle of repeated sinning and yesterday I got sick and tired of it and I prayed about it and confessed. Now though, I have this almost like pressure on my chest feeling. And when I try to read the bible its just bothering me. I almost feel awkward reading the bible. Could anyone explain to me whats happening

 

[Gregory Thompson]

I hope this is the right "Topic thread" for my situation. I have been in a cycle of repeated sinning and yesterday I got sick and tired of it and I prayed about it and confessed. Now though, I have this almost like pressure on my chest feeling. And when I try to read the bible its just bothering me. I almost feel awkward reading the bible. Could anyone explain to me whats happening

Discern the sin causing the irritation.
Confess more.
Discern the sin causing the irritation.
Do something that's the opposite of the sin.
Discern the sin causing the irritation.
Take captive the thoughts responsible for the sin.
Confess more.

 

[Bob Crowley]

There are only three possible sources - your own physiology, God / angel or devil / demon.

I think you could probably discern if it was due to your own body, and you've most likely dismissed it. In other words, I doubt if you think it's a health issue.

That leaves the other two. If it's God, I think He's probably waiting to see if you persevere with your spiritual growth despite the discouragement, or whether you're going to give up and relapse.

If it's the devil, it's discouragement, pure and simple.

So about all you can do is persevere, regardless of the source.

That said, in the past I've had demonic attacks at night (usually) and part of that has been something like a heavy weight pressing down on my chest. But it doesn't last long - I suspect another spiritual being pushes them off again, and tells them to shove off.

I've also had from time to time what you might call a "heartache" feeling, which usually indicates to me there's trouble somewhere, but most of the time I don't know who, where, when, what or why. All I know is that there's trouble brewing. As a psychiatrist (a highly spiritual Catholic psychiatrist) commented to me, these spiritual "messages" are always vague, in the sense you're never quite sure what you're being told.

I had a prophetic pastor who was uncannily accurate, but even he used to preface his remarks and propecies / predictions with "It seems to me that..." or "I think He's telling me that..." He was hedging his bets.

On one occasion, he was going on with all these negative things he thought I'd do in the future. But then he suddenly stopped, and said "Hang on a minute! I think the devil's telling me all this!" Even a good and holy man like him could be temporarily deceived.

In your case though, I think you just need to persevere, and not lose heart.

 

[HappyHope]

I hope this is the right "Topic thread" for my situation. I have been in a cycle of repeated sinning and yesterday I got sick and tired of it and I prayed about it and confessed. Now though, I have this almost like pressure on my chest feeling. And when I try to read the bible its just bothering me. I almost feel awkward reading the bible. Could anyone explain to me whats happening

I pray you will be able to relax and take a deep breathe. It sounds like you are taking the right steps. It sounds like you know your sin habit pretty well. The best place to start is by recognizing the problem. Lots of folks don't even get this far. They don't recognize the problem.

You probably already know you cannot get rid of a deep-rooted sin habit by sheer will in many cases. It may help to find someone to be an accountability partner. Tell someone else. This has the power to break strongholds. Not fun but freedom is better than staying entrenched.

The heavy chest feeling could be anything. Your fear of being entrenched. Your guilt. A sense of hopelessness. Spiritual stuff. Try not to stress. Let God work whatever the case may be.

And the Bible thing. I once heard a pastor say, "Sometimes I don't like reading the Bible because it reads me." I've been there. It could be guilt or shame.

Or once I heard of a lady who was abused by a youth group leader and had trouble reading her Bible for a time because she associated it with her abuser. I've actually been in a similar situation. Such abusive associations can be traumatic.

So whatever your Bible reading hang ups are, it can be complicated. Try not to worry. God is big, loving, and gracious. He knows your situation inside and out. And he adores you. You'll get through if you don't give up. One day at a time with Jesus. And before you know it, this too will pass.

 

[Fervent]

I've struggled with similar cycles of sin/confession/resistance to disciplines through struggling with telling stories. I fought with it with persistance until I became so overwhelmed that I had a total breakdown and spent an afternoon telling everyone I was a liar and doing what they recommended. I told my boss I was a liar and walked off the job, told the gas station clerk I was a liar and he said I should get on my knees and give it to God so I did in the middle of his store, went to the church and told someone in the parking lot I was a liar and he read to me from Matthew and that madness departed but I still ended up in a mental hospital for the episode where I was given the first Bible I actually was able to read with ease for a while and the reading brought out that I had been indwelt with an unclean spirit. Once it was commanded that the spirit depart and never return in the words of Mark 9:24-25 the struggle with dishonesty lessened and getting into spiritual disciplines became easier. Just remember, we're in a spiritual war and the closer we get the harder our enemy pushes back.