Have you ever thought about something and your mood immediately changed?
“I can’t let them down.”
“They will be mad if I say no.”
“What if everyone laughs at me?”
“No one is going to like me?”
“I’m failing as a parent.”
We all have automatic thoughts that happen so quickly- they seem unconscious- like a reflex.
The thoughts we have directly impact the feelings that follow. If you ever find yourself with a low mood and aren’t sure why, ask yourself: what do my feelings suggest I was thinking?
For example, if you notice you’re irritated, you were probably thinking anger-inducing thoughts. You ruminate over something your mother-in-law said to you and, before you know it, you’re in a bad mood. Over time, if left unchecked, these thought patterns can become habits.
Not every thought is true
We all have thought patterns that just aren’t helpful; CBT therapists call these cognitive distortions, also known as irrational thoughts. Some common examples are:
- All-or-nothing thinking- rigidly viewing situations in extremes, leaving no room for nuance
- “We had a really big fight; the relationship is over”
- Fortune telling- Predicting negative outcomes
- “I’m going to fail this test”
- Catastrophizing- Fixating on the worst possible outcome and reacting as if it were true.
- My boss wants to talk with me; she’s going to fire me, and I’ll never find a job again.”
- Should” statements- absolute rules about how people or yourself must be
- “I should be able to handle my problems on my own
These thoughts can feel very convincing in the moment. But a thought can feel true without actually being true.
That is one of the important principles of CBT: We can learn to slow down, examine our thoughts, and determine whether they are accurate and helpful.
What does scripture teach us about our thoughts?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy provides a psychological framework for evaluating our thinking. Scripture provides a framework for considering truth, values, and identity in relation to our thoughts.
Consider some of my favorite verses: Romans 12:2:
“Do not conform to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”
Philippians 4:8:
“Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”
2 Corinthians 10:5
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ
These verses are meant to be the framework through which we filter our thoughts. When we become aware of our stinking thinking, we can compare it with what God’s word says about training our thoughts. What is notable about these verses is that they all tell us what to do about our thoughts. They don’t simply tell us to stop thinking negatively. They give us direction about what to do with our thoughts.
Taking a thought captive means we control our thoughts, not the other way around. We recognize our thoughts and take them captive by giving them to God as many times as we need to. Thoughts can become pervasive and repetitive, so we must hand them over to God repeatedly. It’s not a one-and-done technique. It is constantly aligning our thoughts with God’s thoughts.
The next crucial step is to replace the negative thought with the truth about our situation. In counseling, we call this a reframe. Then we must keep repeating this new, truthful, more helpful thought to ourselves until it becomes automatic for us.
For example:
Automatic thought: “I’m failing as a parent.”
Reframe: “Parenting is difficult, and I don’t have to do it perfectly. I can learn from what happened, make changes where needed, and trust God to help me grow.”
The goal isn’t to replace a negative thought with an unrealistic positive thought. The goal is to replace an unhelpful or inaccurate thought with one that is more truthful and balanced.
With practice, repeating these more truthful thoughts can help create new patterns of thinking.
Questions to Help You Examine Your Thoughts
The next time you notice your mood changing, pause and ask yourself:
Here are some specific questions you can ask yourself:
- What actually happened?
- Is my thinking based on fact?
- How does my thinking make me feel?
- Is there a more balanced way of thinking?
- What does Scripture remind me about this situation?
- What is true about God, myself, or this situation that I need to remember?
These questions can help create space between an automatic thought and your response. This is where change can begin.
Changing the Way We Think
Negative thoughts are part of being human. The goal isn’t to never have a negative thought, but to learn what to do when those thoughts come. This process takes time. I can teach you the tools to get there so you can eventually do this on your own long after therapy ends.
If negative thinking, worry, or anxiety has become a pattern in your life, Christian counseling can give you a place to slow down, examine those thoughts, and learn practical ways to respond. What you will begin to notice is that the negative thoughts lessen in duration and frequency. You recover more quickly from them. In my Christian counseling practice in Davie, Florida, I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy while allowing each client to decide how much faith they want
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- What Does the Bible Say About Negative Thinking? A Christian CBT Approach - September 28, 2026
- Health Anxiety vs. Healthy Choices: Finding Balance in a Fearful World - March 24, 2026