God’s Love Isn’t Fragile (No Matter What OCD & Anxiety Say)

For many people living with anxiety, OCD, or scrupulosity, one of the most painful fears that God’s love might disappear. It can feel like one wrong thought, one missed prayer, one moment of doubt, or one surge of anxiety could cause God to pull away.

When mental health struggles are present, God’s love can begin to feel conditional and easily broken. It can feel like something that must be carefully maintained.

That story does not come from Scripture. It comes from anxiety.

When Anxiety Shapes How We Relate to God

Anxiety and OCD tend to turn relationships into high pressure environments. Everything feels loaded and every internal experience feels meaningful. There is often a constant urge to monitor thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in order to prevent something bad from happening.

When this lens is applied to faith, God can begin to feel unsafe, not because of who He is, but because of how anxiety interprets Him.

OCD and anxiety often suggest that if you fail to respond correctly, doubt too much, or struggle for too long, God may pull away. Over time, this creates a picture of God’s love as something dependent on performance, emotional regulation, or certainty.

Love becomes something you must protect and constantly prove yourself worthy of. This is exhausting, and it is not the gospel.

What Scripture Actually Says About God’s Love

Scripture consistently presents God’s love as secure, enduring, and not dependent on human perfection.

The apostle Paul writes that nothing can separate us from the love of God, including fear, distress, hardship, weakness, or anything else in all creation (Romans 8:38–39). There are no hidden exceptions in this passage. Paul does not carve out space for anxiety, OCD, or moments of doubt.

God’s love is not described as something that cracks under pressure.

The psalmist describes the Lord as compassionate and merciful, slow to anger, and filled with steadfast love (Psalms 103:8). This is not fragile love. It is stable love.

Scripture also tells us that God draws near to the brokenhearted rather than withdrawing from them (Psalms 34:18). Distress does not repel God. It invites His nearness.

What Psychology Helps Us Understand

Attachment theory offers a helpful framework for understanding why anxiety and OCD so often distort how we experience God’s love.

In human relationships, secure attachment develops when love is consistent, responsive, and not withdrawn during moments of distress. Over time, a person learns that closeness is safe and that love does not disappear when they struggle.

Insecure attachment forms when love feels unpredictable or conditional, especially when it seems dependent on getting things right or staying calm. Anxiety thrives in these environments.

OCD often relates to God as though He were an insecure attachment figure. This can show up as constant checking, reassurance seeking, mental rituals, fear of abandonment, and hypervigilance about doing something wrong spiritually. Beneath these behaviours is often a deeper question: Am I still loved?

Scripture answers that question clearly.

God as a Secure Attachment Figure

The Bible presents God as a secure and steady presence. He moves toward people in distress rather than away from them. He remains present when His people are overwhelmed, fearful, or uncertain.

This kind of love does not require constant reassurance to stay intact. It does not disappear when anxiety spikes or when faith feels shaky. It remains.

God describes His love as everlasting, meaning it does not weaken, expire, or disappear when you struggle (Jeremiah 31:3).

If God’s love were fragile, none of us could hold onto it. The good news of the gospel is that we were never meant to.

When OCD Tells You It Is Your Job to Hold God’s Love Together

OCD often insists that you are responsible for maintaining your relationship with God through constant vigilance. It suggests that you must monitor your thoughts, feelings, and intentions to keep His love intact.

Scripture tells a different story. God’s love does not depend on perfect thoughts, perfect faith, perfect obedience, or perfect calm. It is not sustained by your effort.

If your faith feels exhausting, fragile, or driven by fear, it may not be God asking more of you. It may be anxiety shaping how you relate to Him.

A Truer Conclusion

God’s love is not fragile.

Your anxiety is not powerful enough to break it. Your OCD is not capable of undoing it. Your fear and weakness do not threaten it.

God’s love is secure, enduring, and present, even when your mind tells you otherwise.

You were never meant to carry the weight of holding God’s love together.