Benefits of journaling
http://www.journaljunkies.com/About-JJs/why-journal.html
Journaling is a great Christian discipline that will bring growth and spiritual maturity as you journey with God! It's not a legalistic practice, but a liberating experience! But what are some of the more specific benefits it can bring?
Keep yourself spiritually fed
It's great to get encouragement from the preaching of the Word and to pray with others during church services, but what happens Monday through to Saturday? Who's feeding you your daily bread then? And what conversations are you having with the Lord? The Bible tells us in Matthew 4:4 that 'Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Journal Junkies is a great daily guide and prompt to make sure you keep spiritually nourished from the Word and to keep you connected to God in prayer.
Have something to give
Jesus is quoted in Acts as saying, "It is better to give than to receive", but how can we give if we don't have? You see, we're not just talking about money or material things here. Incorporated in that 'giving' is the Word of God. As you discipline yourself to engage with God's Word and journal the thoughts and meditations of your heart, you will find that what God speaks isn't always just for you. But as you are in conversation with people throughout the day, God may drop a thought or scripture into your heart that you can minister to that person. Or maybe whilst journaling, God may prompt you to write down something to share and encourage with someone. As Christians we aren't meant to contain God, he is meant to overflow from us into the lives of others.
Remember what the Lord has said
The simple fact of the matter is this: people forget things. Not just where you left the car keys or when your wedding anniversary is, but - more importantly - what God has spoken to you. Every time God speaks it should evoke a response; whether it be prayer, reflection or action. How are you going to respond every day that He speaks if you do not have a record of it? Can you trust your memory to recall everything? Everyone is going to have to give an account to God for for the things they have done - and the things they haven't done! When journaling you can keep a record of things that God has told you to do so that you can be obedient in doing them.
Remember what the Lord has done
Not only do you get the chance to write what God has said to you, you can write the 'praise reports' of what he has done for you. It might be answered prayer or a display of His grace, mercy, favour or protection. Whatever it is, if you write it down you can reflect back on it. This will not only mean that you can give thanks to God, but also it will build your faith. This principle goes back to Old Testament times when God often led the Israelites to build memorials to commemorate something He had done for them (eg. Joshua 4:1-7). These memorials would increase their faith as they remembered the great things He had done.
See the bigger picture
If you lost half a significant amount of body weight over a period of say, a month, the chances are that you wouldn't have noticed the difference from day to day, but the person who hasn't seen you for a month would notice straight away. It can be like that with your Christian walk. The progress you make (going from one step of glory to another, as the Bible says) can be unnoticed day to day, but string a whole bunch of those days together and you will be able to look back and see how far you have come. What's more, you may start to see patterns in what God is saying and doing that reveal a particular direction that He is leading you in.
Keep yourself on the right track
In the book of Deuteronomy (17:18-20) God instructed Israel's kings to write out the instructions of His revealed words. They were to keep it by their side and read from it daily to prevent them from becoming proud and turning away from its truths. The result was obedience and a healthy reverence towards God. Who wouldn't want to experience that?
Duet 17:18-20
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.
Journaling is a great Christian discipline that will bring growth and spiritual maturity as you journey with God! It's not a legalistic practice, but a liberating experience! But what are some of the more specific benefits it can bring?
Keep yourself spiritually fed
It's great to get encouragement from the preaching of the Word and to pray with others during church services, but what happens Monday through to Saturday? Who's feeding you your daily bread then? And what conversations are you having with the Lord? The Bible tells us in Matthew 4:4 that 'Man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Journal Junkies is a great daily guide and prompt to make sure you keep spiritually nourished from the Word and to keep you connected to God in prayer.
Have something to give
Jesus is quoted in Acts as saying, "It is better to give than to receive", but how can we give if we don't have? You see, we're not just talking about money or material things here. Incorporated in that 'giving' is the Word of God. As you discipline yourself to engage with God's Word and journal the thoughts and meditations of your heart, you will find that what God speaks isn't always just for you. But as you are in conversation with people throughout the day, God may drop a thought or scripture into your heart that you can minister to that person. Or maybe whilst journaling, God may prompt you to write down something to share and encourage with someone. As Christians we aren't meant to contain God, he is meant to overflow from us into the lives of others.
Remember what the Lord has said
The simple fact of the matter is this: people forget things. Not just where you left the car keys or when your wedding anniversary is, but - more importantly - what God has spoken to you. Every time God speaks it should evoke a response; whether it be prayer, reflection or action. How are you going to respond every day that He speaks if you do not have a record of it? Can you trust your memory to recall everything? Everyone is going to have to give an account to God for for the things they have done - and the things they haven't done! When journaling you can keep a record of things that God has told you to do so that you can be obedient in doing them.
Remember what the Lord has done
Not only do you get the chance to write what God has said to you, you can write the 'praise reports' of what he has done for you. It might be answered prayer or a display of His grace, mercy, favour or protection. Whatever it is, if you write it down you can reflect back on it. This will not only mean that you can give thanks to God, but also it will build your faith. This principle goes back to Old Testament times when God often led the Israelites to build memorials to commemorate something He had done for them (eg. Joshua 4:1-7). These memorials would increase their faith as they remembered the great things He had done.
See the bigger picture
If you lost half a significant amount of body weight over a period of say, a month, the chances are that you wouldn't have noticed the difference from day to day, but the person who hasn't seen you for a month would notice straight away. It can be like that with your Christian walk. The progress you make (going from one step of glory to another, as the Bible says) can be unnoticed day to day, but string a whole bunch of those days together and you will be able to look back and see how far you have come. What's more, you may start to see patterns in what God is saying and doing that reveal a particular direction that He is leading you in.
Keep yourself on the right track
In the book of Deuteronomy (17:18-20) God instructed Israel's kings to write out the instructions of His revealed words. They were to keep it by their side and read from it daily to prevent them from becoming proud and turning away from its truths. The result was obedience and a healthy reverence towards God. Who wouldn't want to experience that?
Duet 17:18-20
18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.