“Then the Lord answered me and said, “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.” Habakkuk 2:2-3
Does anyone out there have a couple of pads of sticky notes sitting in the top drawer of your desk or by the phone? Those handy little parchments to post on your kitchen cabinets, bathroom mirrors, or the dashboard of your car with reminders scribbled with appointments to keep or shopping lists to check off? For more than a decade now those fun colored little squares of paper have become invaluable to me as I know by experience that I will rack my brain trying to remember what I have forgotten. So why bother, just use a note as a reminder to self.
Years ago I was at a women’s retreat and the speaker was talking about journaling. I thought to myself, ” not for me, I don’t have the time, what will I say, is there a right way, a wrong way?” Even though I was trying to talk myself out of it the curiosity of at least trying to journal kept showing up on the doorstep of my heart. One morning as I was reading God’s word He lead me to the scripture in Habakkuk. Somehow these verses challenged all of my excuses about not journaling and they became for me a new chapter in my walk with the Lord.
Throughout the ages, men and women have used journals to help them think more perceptively about their lives. Thank God, many followers of Christ have kept a journal to record their spiritual journey. These writings were valuable records and reminders to them and now are valuable to us. I think of the book ” The Journals of Jim Elliot”. He was a missionary who was martyred for Christ. How I and many others have been encouraged, convicted and blessed by what he recorded about his daily life and service to our Savior. We read over the shoulders of others and benefit from their struggles, wisdom, and victories. John Wesley diligently kept journals. He penned twenty-six volumes in which he recorded his vision and ideas, missionary activity, answers to prayer, personal insights for the Bible, and the great work of God through out his life. For followers of Christ journaling is more than a diary filled with feelings. God desires that we gain a deeper connection with Him so that our minds become transformed by His truth and our lives become shaped by His purposes. Getting things down on paper helps us to think more objectively about what we read from the bible, organize our thoughts and see errors we might be missing. And here’s the best take away of all. When journaling, we record the activity of God. Answers to prayers and promises are there on the written page. Time and memory cannot fade where there is a journal to revive our hearts.
How marvelous are His works and putting it to pen and ink is our “unforgettable” note to self and others.
I have so many journals, I’ve lost count! I wouldn’t say they’re like John Wesley’s (!), but those aspects are a common thread that runs throughout. My daily writings are often a “diary of feelings,” and even rantings & ravings!But penning my thoughts, feelings, prayers, etc. really helps me to focus and keep my train of thought in my ADHD overloaded & fastpaced world. (Post-its, or “stickies” – what a great invention!) <