I remember when I first became a Christian someone told me, "Beware. Satin isn't going to let you go easily." I didn't understand what that meant, but learned quickly that Satin indeed was not going to let me go without a fight.
Recently a woman shared her own spiritual battle between the powers of good (positive thoughts) and evil (negative thoughts) and how she felt elated, and quickly discouraged because it was easier to believe the lie than the new truths she was learning.
As a therapist, I warn new clients that life can get more challenging in the beginning of therapy as they make changes, but to "hang in there because it does get better." Change is difficult, but change happens whether we want it to or not. Making choices to change toward a healthier life is a positive change where you can reap the benefits of thinking well.
The Bible says,
"We tear down arguments, and every presumption set up against the knowledge of God;
and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
2 Corinthians 10:5
We can be captives in life, living as a prisoner, or we can take the thoughts, lies, and disbelief, and be encouraged captors who hold onto the new truths. I think of the song by Chrystal Lewis, "Come. Just as you are," and the meaning behind the words reflecting that we don't have to be perfect, but through our imperfections we can become new thinkers, moving toward perfection. A friend of mine who presents at a divorce workshop says, "You can GO through a difficulty in life, or you can GROW through the difficulty."
As a New Life Ministry therapist, I help men and women who struggle with sexual additions and pornography. The Everyman's Battle workshop is coming to Orange County, November 3-5, 2017 (learn more at: http://newlife.com/workshops/every-mans-battle/).
If we are used to thinking the worst about ourselves, that negative thinking will be our "default" setting. In therapy, I strive to help people "reset" their thinking and "reboot" to a new way of thinking. Take those negative thoughts captive, and let's be captors today.