Catholics, Protestants, and others have differences of opinion on who can or cannot actually be possessed. Since Catholics take this issue seriously, in my opinion they have a better understanding of how the supernatural works. From my experience, Protestants seem to go with their ‘feelings/flesh’, in which we are told specifically not to follow:
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?
Romans 7:18-20 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
Any thoughts we have should always be confirmed by the Word.
Growing up in the Protestant faith myself, I had not heard of the term ‘obsession’. Because I personally believe a Believer can be possessed, it explained the middle step for me. Here is a quick overview of how I see these defined.
Oppression – comes from outside influences out of our control
Obsession – thoughts, ideas, habits, etc. that we become fixated upon. Many times these are sinful in nature, but we refuse to bring them under submission. Unchecked, it can lead to Possession.
2 Corinthians 10:5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ
Possession – comes from inside influences we have allowed to control that specific area of our flesh. A better way to describe this is a familiar spirit. We have entertained it for so long that we don’t want to let it go and we justify its existence. It could be bitterness, envy, covetousness, forbidden relations, gluttony, etc. It can be anger that we label as “righteous” to dampen the inner voice that tries to convict us. Sometimes it is even a generational curse or proclivity that passes down our family line.
The truth is, all of us have difficulty ruling over our flesh and we all have hidden sins. Allow God to show you in private what those are because if we don’t submit to His correction He will expose them to others in public in order to cause repentance. His ultimate desire is for us to be healthy in both mind and body.