Bright Spots in the Darkness Posts

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,”  Romans 12:2 My depressive thoughts go around and around. Some scientists believe that this has a physiological origin.  Thoughts develop neural pathways.  The more frequently the thought the stronger the connections. So what can we do?   Cognitive Behavior Therapy helps an individual discover distortions in thinking and begin to replace them with realistic and positive thoughts.   There is a milli-moment between an event, the thought, and its interpretation.  The thought elicits a feeling.  Rewiring of these milli-moments is possible.  Realistic thoughts replace negative interpretations. Cognitive Behavior Therapy is an effective method of depression treatment. We can choose to pursue the renewing of our minds.  Changing depressive thought patterns can cause a transformation. God hates these negative patterns because of the damage it does to us. And I believe that there is divine aid He gives us in the renewing of our minds. We begin thought replacement with “new” thoughts. Scripture can give us words and phrases we can use whenever a negative thought occurs. Here are a few scriptures that might give us a start. “Even though I…

“Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.” Matthew 5:7 One popular story of Jesus is about a man who was robbed on a business trip.  He was left badly beaten by the side of the road.  You would expect someone to stop but the first two people walked by without offering help. Finally, another business man came along the lonely rough road, found the man and tended to his wounds. You may know the story as the parable of the Good Samaritan. Who are we in the story? One of the two who walked by? The rescuer? A beaten up business man? Depression beats us up leaving us by the side of the road. Why did the robbers attack the first business man?  No one knows. Why do we suffer from depression?  It may have been a situation that caused you great grief and has left you tearful and sad.  Perhaps it is a flaw in the DNA that controls your biochemistry.  You may have inherited it.  Often there seems no reason. One of the questions that haunts us is,  “Why?  Why me?  Why now?” Depression happens to us because of complex reasons that medical scientists don’t even…