Human brains have pessimistic bias. According to Psychology Today, “Our brains are more highly attended to negativity.” 80% of our thoughts are pessimistic. Odd? For a Christian, this is not surprising. Sin is a negative impact. The intrusion has caused us to remember people that harm us or bad experiences more quickly than positive ones. This is a common pattern for all of us. As followers of Christ, you can overcome your pessimistic thoughts. Let us look at 5 Biblical actions Christians are called to do to hold the victory.

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What Does the Bible Say About Pessimistic Thoughts?

When identifying pessimistic patterns and understand that they are negative and destructive, we need the change to freedom. Freedom comes from knowing the Truth. John 8:32 says “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

What is the Truth?

The Truth is the Word of God. Negativity and impure thoughts come from our fallen nature. Adam and Eve’s disobedience towards God caused sin to flood us and the Earth. Sin means transgression of God’s law. The Truth is this, though we have no merit, God sent His only Son to die for the sin of the world and through His resurrection we die with Christ and resurrect in Him. This Word sets us free. John 1 testifies that the Word of God is Christ, Jesus.

His Freedom Changes

When we abide in Christ, Christ abides in us. He sets us free from the bondage of Sin. In that freedom we become overcomers. He changes our whole being into His likeness. What we once loved, we now hate because this Freedom has changed us into longing what God loves, righteousness. When we dwell on pessimistic or negative thoughts the Holy Spirit will help us recognize the patterns create a desire in us to long to correct them. Read more about being Born Again, Here.

5 Action Christians Must Take To Correct Pessimistic Patterns

#1 Change Your Attitude

First, we must recognize that there is a need to change our attitude. There is the implication that a supernatural process takes places and attitudes change when a person reads the Bible and prays. There is truth to that concept. The Bible says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Thy Word (Psalm 119:9).” God is the only One that can change our thought process and most certainly our pessimistic ways.

“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flows the springs of life.”
Proverbs 4:23

We encourage to saturate your hearts (minds) in the Word of God. The more saturated your heart becomes in the Word the more your conduct and thought process is going to be affected. To experience this change we must put it in practice.

#2 Captivate Your Thoughts to Jesus

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
2 Corinthians 10:5

We know for certain that our thought life build strongholds and the enemy can abuse it to oppress us. Pessimistic thoughts are can be used by the enemy to wage war in us. Taking thoughts captive means we refuse to let lies from the enemy to overtake your mind. Choose to focus your thoughts on righteousness. “We are to think about those things that are pure, lovely, and admirable” (Phil. 4:8). When we think about those things God extends His peace to us.

#3 Renew Your Mind

“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Romans 12:2

How do we renew our mind? We need a new course for our thinking. Suppressing thoughts do not help, redirecting them does. We should change our negative thoughts into the positivity of what the Word say. Paul gives us a good illustration, “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need” (Eph. 4:28). How does the thief stop stealing? Not by stopping the stealing. But there must be a “no” to a destructive habit. It is like building a dam to keep the water from flowing.

We must build the dam by refusing wrongful, pessimistic thoughts from flowing through our mind. We must redirect the flow and develop a new way of thinking through the Word of God. What does the Bible say about my thoughts? Eventually old habits will fade and become less influential and allow us to control our thinking. This must take place by the act of “will” and not just wishful thinking. “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col. 3:2).

#4 Putting to Death

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
Colossians 3:5

Our pessimistic and negative thoughts do not just die naturally. It would be awesome if they did then we do not have to do much. But because “The hear t is deceitful above all things and is desperately sick.” Because of our fallen nature/sin our desires, lust go against the Spirit of God. That is when “put to death” needs to be a continual action.

Every time a pessimistic thought comes to mind, we must put them to death and redirecting them back to what the Word of God says. This does not mean that you will stop having these thoughts. You will certainly still get tempted and that is why a continual action must take place to “put to death”. We stop them by with the dam we build and filter them by the Word, every single time.

# 5 Putting on Truth

“So, as those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.”
Colossians 3:12

Paul is commanding us to develop, healthy positive spiritual thinking. We are to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patients. By putting these on we can put off the wrong ones. This step is essential and genuine for change. Paul gives us another illustration in Ephesians 4:25, He says that the liar needs to stop (put off) lying and speak truth (put on).

We also see that Paul deals with this concept in Romans 6-8. Romans chapter 6 describes our provision that we have been delivered from the power of sin and our old nature was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin can be rendered powerless, Romans 6:6. Romans 6:7, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. The provision has been made so that we may overcome the power of sin (Romans 6:18).

Romans chapter 7 we see that we will struggle all the time with the struggle of the provision of chapter 6 into our lives. Our key solution is Jesus Christ, (Romans 7:25). romans eight tells us how we can put these into practice. Different translations State it in different ways but it all has the same concept of “setting the mind” Romans 8:5-7. The whole concept of “putting on” is “fixing your thoughts” on the truth of God’s Word.

Overview

To conclude I want to encourage you with Philippians 2:12-13 “Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to do what pleases him.” Therefore, there are many triggers to pessimistic and negative thoughts that can set off wrong patterns of thinking. We need to ask God to alert us and give us discernment through the Holy Spirit the minute pessimistic thought patterns begin.

To finalize let us look at the overview of what we need to do to control our pessimistic thoughts. First, we recognize our attitude needs to be changed, we captivate our thoughts to Christ, put them to death and put on Truth. Through the name of Jesus, I pray that he gives you strength through His Spirit that you may be an overcomer and pleasing to Him.

Anchor in the Word, Vessels and may God richly bless you.