The Difficulties of Being Different
One of the complications of being a highly sensitive Christian is that most Christian teachers are not highly sensitive, and yet they’re the ones teaching and modeling for us the nitty-gritty of how to live our Christian lives.
Many highly sensitive Christians find themselves becoming increasingly neurotic as they sit under such training. It seems the harder we try to live up to these less sensitive ways of living the Christian life, the further out of reach slips the abundant life promised by Jesus (John 10:10).
Hard-wired entirely differently from less sensitive people, the highly sensitive experience the world in a way that few appreciate. In the church, highly sensitive people are rarely understood – even by themselves. Instead of sensitivity being celebrated and found valuable, as God intended, it is often disapproved as immaturity, defect, or character flaw.
Even among the teachers in the church who are highly sensitive persons, few have come to peace with their high sensitivity and many battle it as if it were an enemy.
Investing Our Sensitivities in the Heart of God
Highly sensitive people have richer senses and usually deeper emotions than their less sensitive counterparts. As highly sensitive believers, we have the potential to invest those deeper emotions and richer senses into our relationship with God, although people who don’t know about sensitivity are understandably unable to tell us that.
The highly sensitive person has an uncommon potential to develop a relational style with God that is strong with emotion – both our own and God’s – and able to sense the intangible Presence of God, emotions of God, and/or communications from God. What a joy to overtly experience the warmth of the love of God for oneself!
Enjoy Your God!
So, enjoy your high sensitivity. Enjoy your God (Psalm 9:2). Dance in His presence (Psalm 149:3). Rejoice (Phil. 4:4). Christ is your life (Col. 3:4). Rest (Heb. 4:9-10). Play (Mark 10:15). Come into His Presence with happy confidence because of Jesus (Heb. 4:16). Drink from the river of His pleasures (Psalm 36:8). Be safe in Him (Psalm 91:1). Respond (Rev. 3:20). Soak in His presence (Rev. 1:10). Thank Him (Psalm 107). Worship (Psalm 29:2). Believe (Matt. 9:28).
Be blessed.
Gail Ruth
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Good Morning Gail.
I am a Highly Sensitive Christian. Recently I got my feelings hurt during a Bible Study and have had a hard time letting go of it. Even to the point of not being able to sleep well. Others seem to enjoy a far about of disagreement and I just cringe and feel hurt. I came right home after that experience and looked online for information and found your website. Thank you so much for your postings that have helped me on my journey to accept and Love my very sensitive self. With his Love, Debbie
Hi Debbie. Thanks so much for your comment. I appreciate the way you write it without calling anyone bad, even though you were hurt.
I went to your website, http://www.PuppetsForMinistry.com and loved it. I’ve always been crazy about puppets. Used to do some puppeteering when I was younger. If anyone wants to make homemade puppets, Debbie has patterns for some nice ones on her site.
Blessings! Gail
I like design of your website What is the name of template ?
I use
Thesis Theme for WordPress. I like it so much that I’m an affiliate for the theme. It gives me a lot more design control than any other theme I’ve found.I really needed this. Recently sermons at church have been hitting me wrong. There have been plenty of ‘do this” or ‘don’t do this’ and a little bit goes a long way for me. About two minutes and then I just feel emotionally hammered. Sooo I’ve been reading poetry- Emily Dickinson is quite delightful.
Good old Emily. I too can only take so much behaviorally-focussed “edification” before I get the heeby-jeebies. Just let me be in a love relationship with God through Jesus and pour out my life as the Holy Spirit leads, and that’s about all I can handle. Blessings!
Gail, I’m a teacher myself. Actually, my class knows I’m not. The Holy Spirit is the teacher, I’m just the T.A. who coordinates. I was reading the posts above of those who have been hurt by a teacher. I’m not sure what those teachers did, but–strangely enough–I have never found that a class member was hurt by direct Scripture, in its true context, and with several related cross-references. We examine these together, and I find I never have to draw a conclusion of “do this” or “don’t do this”. The Holy Spirit does any such convicting or persuading in his own perfect way. Sometimes the Holy Spirit comes upon them and they teach ME. I will say that my pastor feels that one of my weaknesses is my lack of drawing a conclusion from Scripture. I was so glad I found your post about weaknesses earlier tonight. I just found you after praying and then searching the phrase “gifted Christians”. I know the Holy Spirit is opening up some new teaching to me through you.
I bless you, Kevin, in your teaching. Your method sounds wonderful. And I love the language you use of being the Teacher’s assistant. I know many highly sensitive Christians who would love to sit under such teaching as yours where you open scripture and let the Holy Spirit apply it in His perfect way. Non-controlling. No micro-managing. Just like our lovely Holy Spirit.
I do encourage you to not to let yourself be pressured into teaching in a way that is not in your heart. Each person who teaches is solely responsible for what and how he or she teaches. Scriptures tell us (James 3:1) that teachers will be judged more strictly than others. Frankly that makes my hair stand on end each time I think about it. And so I for one am very careful with what I say and how I say it as I teach. It sounds as if you do the same.
Blessings!
Gail
Your intuition is correct about James 3:1. It has made me too afraid to teach anything other than Scripture. If something is my thoughts on a Scripture and not Scripture itself, I make sure the class knows that before I speak it. If the Holy Spirit is using another person to teach me and the class and he brings to my mind the related Scripture, I will (when they finish) ask them to look up that Scripture and read it to the class so they can see that the Word validates the Spirit’s speaking through that person.
I started watching your “Jen” video but didn’t have time to finish it yet. Getting pictures in her head is one fulfillment of Joel 2:28, although she is a young woman, not a “young man”. I want to hear her out later. What has intrigued me at your site is your interest in recognizing and developing of spiritual gifts. I have noticed that not all gifts take on a miraculous or supernatural appearance (mine does not, for example), nor is everything with a supernatural appearance a spiritual gift. Yet we need to find and develop these to function as a church as Jesus intended for us to. So far I have found 39 gifts listed in the OT and NT, but I do not believe the list is closed.
When I talk about gifts in my series, I’m not just referring to spiritual gifts (both the supernatural-looking ones and the less-supernatural-looking ones). I’m also referring to the purely natural gifts that God wove into us as part of our created design. But who truly understands where the one end and the other begin? “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17). Blessings!
My husband Emil & I are gleaning much from learning that we are both (he at least somewhat) highly sensitive, and from hearing put into words, supportively, what we’ve been experiencing on occassion. Its helping us to have improved understanding of one another. Thank you! This church thing was highly provocative, changing the way we think and our expectations of one another.
I agree very much with what you wrote. I think you should send this to every pastor in your local area. Could we forward this to our pastors and other Christian leaders?
Thank you for that post.
BluWhiskers
Hi BluWhiskers,
Feel free to forward this if the Holy Spirit leads you to do this. But the problem with sending it out to every pastor is that pastors, just like everyone else, are open to information that solves a problem they have and want solved. If they don’t personally perceive a problem, unsolicited information is just irritating noise.
We can’t expect anyone to listen because we have a problem. They have no reason to believe us, unless they are in such a close relationship with us, see how we struggle, and our problem becomes theirs out of relationship.
The best thing you can do in my opinion is to pray for the Holy Spirit to release revelation to the Body of Christ, and then, only when the fullness of time has come and the Holy Spirit whispers to your heart, “Now is the time, and this is the person,” that you share the information within the bounds of relationship.
I too wish the Body of Christ understood these things. I’ll be talking more about this topic in the near future, as I have been laboring and praying over a post about this.
Be blessed.
A counselor, who turned me on to the possibility of being highly sensitive, spoke similarly to me, Gail, as you have written to BluWhiskers. I had copied materials and shared them with a mentor and our pastor. But my counselor said because they are extroverts, they probably wouldn’t understand, and that one day I would realize there is no need to help them “get it”, (because they probably never will), but rather the benefit is in the knowing for myself, when I am experiencing these things. How interesting. We will pray, and let the Holy Spirit move.
Very well said. Thank you for clarity. I bless you Cindy.
Gail, thank you very much for your encouraging words.
I had a cold and my high sensitive friend Heike prayed for
me for good decisions, as I asked her to do so. And I found
your site. God is wonderful. It was just in the right time when
I needed it. God bless you. You are a real blessing to many.
Wow, wow, thank you so much for what you do here! I knew you were the real deal when I (FINALLY!) found instructions through your site to make a spin-able worship flag. Thank you!!
The interview with Jen really opened my eyes and makes me want to jump for joy! :) Things are so easy while contained in my brain, but express it verbally to a human being? Ha! Working in health care and ministry is a good challenge – I can easily perceive how to solve a problem – if only it was easier to translate colours and shapes into english..! It makes no sense! Haha.
Ah, but we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of a Creator Who sings over us – He’s so BIG I can’t take myself too seriously. He’s got it all under control anyway. :)
I love your cheerful and gently-motivating writing style and your beautiful artwork. Keep up the awesome work! Looking forward to reading more of your articles in the future. Bless you sister!
Thanks Joy! Blessings!
I just came to the realization that I am a highly sensitive Christian. I found the new age articles about this and knew I needed to seek out the Christian version. I have been fighting my sensitivities like they were the enemy like you described! Hasn’t worked either. I am one of God’s dreamers and visionaries and now the Lord has placed his finger on this issue for me to deal with in order to be able to embrace whatever and what else He has in store for me. Appreciate your doing this, appreciate you. God bless!
Dear Gail,
Your words are as a golden twine;I’m holding on tightly across the miles. Have you heard the story of Jesse’s silkworm? it’s an interesting story of a young girl who in her concern to help her silkworm out of it’s cocoon causes irreprable damage; God is peace, and love; I knew that before and I know it now.
thank you, i had saved your web + early this morning discovered it again ,such a blessing as i left my homemade flags home and am told i am too senivtive by close friends ,blessings
THANK YOU Lord for showing me this website…
I ‘vowed’ I won’t return to church. Only with my (yet unbelieving) precious wife… maybe… I am so tired hearing about DOING, DOING and more DOING in church. I am so tired fighting my high sensitivity, trying to be like others for more than 40 years now. The BEAUTIFUL Lord is patiently teaching me to accept my GIFT instead of fighting it.
I plan to hang out here fore a while…
Thank you for making this website!
Could you please link me to an entry where I can start reading. I am a strong INTP and have been told by the few who really know me, that I am too sensitive (as a bad thing). I find that I think differently about things, and when I share them with time to explain (I am speaking of spiritual principles here) I do get very positive responses. I am currently in counselling… I love the way I think and I love that I am passionate about Jesus and the things He cares about… I just told my counsellor that I think I have a brilliant mind, but I feel I spend most of my time either protecting people from or apologizing for my personality. I need help identifying why I am always so apologetic and regrettful of who I am and yet I don’t actually want to be different… I want to be healthy; but I want to make peace with my contradictions and not forsake them. I am an INTP female.
Hi TJ. You might want to start with my post on giftedness, which has some information about INTP’s. It Really Does Make Sense – Sensitivity and the Christian Gifted Adult. Then you might want to read through the posts in the category “Being Different“.
I bless you as you journey through to an acceptance of your personal uniqueness.