You Can Heal - Part 2

Yesterday Stephanie posed this question, What on earth do we do about automatic negative thoughts? Are you struggling with letting them go? She offers wonderful words of wisdom here!...

Well, the ineffective untrue negative thoughts need to go. (No matter how attached you are.)

It starts with being aware of your negative thoughts when something happens. You may begin to notice a pattern; a filter that exists in your brain you use to sift experiences. Next, once the negative thought is identified you can create an adaptive response. For example, a negative thought may be “I feel like I can’t do this.” The adaptive response would be, “The Bible says ‘I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me.’ It may be difficult, but it’s probably not true that I can’t do it at all. What is the worst that could happen? I will go ahead and try.”

Sounds simple right? Yea. The hard part comes when you actually have to use these adaptive responses in negative thought patterns to change behavior. The hard part is to ACT on your adaptive response even though you may not FEEL like it. Remember, our feelings are not necessarily what we need to follow; after all, the heart is deceitful above all else.

What we CAN always trust as truth is God’s Word. If He says something about us, even though we don’t FEEL it, we can CHOOSE to believe it. It becomes necessary to cry out “help me overcome” and to attack the negative thoughts and beliefs - constantly. Every time the negative thought pops up, you must CHOOSE to create an adaptive response, and act differently despite feelings.

Over time, negative thought patterns can be phased out, and replaced with the TRUTH of God’s Word. CBT is an awesome therapy - and when paired with the truths of scripture - it becomes one of the most powerful tools in finding freedom from negative thought trains.

I cannot tell you how much CBT counseling from a Christian counselor helped me. Strongholds that existed in my brain for years were demolished. Freedom from my past was found. I overcame depression and rediscovered who I was. Walls had to be torn down in the process, which was difficult, no doubt. But the rewards were huge.

If you are struggling on the negative thought train, the good news is you can jump off. You don’t have to stay on any longer (any automatic negative thoughts popping up right now?). Christ longs to give you freedom from what holds you captive. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

Do not let yourself be burdened by negative thoughts. Seek Christian counseling if that is where you feel God guiding you. Sometimes it takes someone walking beside you to notice the negative thoughts, and let you know they aren’t true.

Christ designed you to live in freedom. Don’t sell yourself short or settle for anything less!

Thank you so much Stephanie!!

This post is part of our Jumping off the Train {of Negative Thought} series. Join us for the rest here!