I can’t remember when I started journaling, but I can tell you I’m glad I did. Spiritual journaling has looked differently for me through the years, but it has always been a constant for me. Journaling allows me to reflect on what God is saying and doing in my life. Journaling helps me take what is happening in and around me and put it on paper. Journaling gives me a chance to write down the work of God as I travel through this journey called life.
Spiritual journaling is not keeping a diary: it is not simply recording of your everyday life. Spiritual journaling is a discipline that actually enables you to hear God more clearly and process what He might be doing or saying in your life.
Honestly, I rarely go back and read previous journals. I usually journal for the present, not the past. I use journaling to force me to slow down enough to think about what God is doing in my life. Dawson Trotman once said, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and fingertips.” Journaling is a way to untangle your thoughts and put them on paper. By doing this, you may be able to better sense what God is showing or saying to you.
I currently journal about once a week. I use a three-year journal, which means I record my thoughts on the same page with entries from the past two years. This does help me see the activity of God in my life from year to year. I typically write no more than a paragraph or two, and I focus on the things God is doing in my life, the people He has placed in my life, or the lessons I believe He is teaching me in life. The good news is that what I journal is never wrong. Since my journal is for me, it doesn’t have to be approved by anyone else. It really is between me and God.
If you have never journaled, I suggest giving it a try. You just have to start writing! I also recommend a resource on journaling called Write It Down: Unlocking Your Ability to Hear From God from a pastor friend of mine named Robert Mullins. You can click here to order a copy of your own!
Impact Discipleship Ministries exists to inspire people to be and build disciples. If we can help you in that journey, please don’t hesitate to contact us or check us out on line at impactdisciples.com. We would love to help you be and build disciples.
