Put It In Writing
There is nothing in the world more soul-satisfying than having the kingdom of God building inside you and growing. —Johnny Cash
Let this be recorded for future generations. —Psalm 102:18 NLT
“Look how much you’ve grown!” The words every adolescent pretends to be annoyed by but secretly loves to hear. Because growth is important. That’s why countless doorframes and walls in homes around the world are permanently marked with lines and dates, recording kids’ ever-increasing height.
The funny thing is, the person doing the growing is often the last one to realize it. There is no internal measuring sensor in the brain that suddenly announces, “You just reached 5’7”.” So those marks on the wall and those amazed exclamations from people you haven’t seen in a while serve a useful purpose. They remind you of how much you’ve grown.
Spiritual growth—the kind Johnny Cash celebrated—is even harder to recognize. Other people can’t always tell what’s happening inside you. And you can’t measure your soul on a doorframe.
What you can do is keep a written record of your spiritual life, an intimate and honest journal that tracks your highs and lows, your victories and failures, in your walk with Christ.
Journaling can be a key spiritual discipline to support you in your prayer and Bible study. It’s also one of the most valuable skills you’ll ever develop. Journaling compels you to be an investigative reporter for your own life. To look closely at what happens and ask why. To seek out evidence of God’s hand in daily events.
To create a meaningful journal, one that will prove valuable to you in the future, try to work transparency and fearlessness in your writing. Be willing to admit your fears, hopes, doubts, and struggles in an authentic, unselfconscious way. Your goal is to create a snapshot of your spiritual life with each entry. What prayer requests are at the top of your list? What good things are you praising God for? What struggles and distractions are you trying to work through? What worries are taking up space in your brain? What Scripture passages are speaking to you?
Think of your journal as an investment. You add to it a little—or a lot—at a time. A paragraph one day, two full pages another day, depending on the circumstances. Slowly but surely, one volume fills up. And then another. In time, you have a treasure trove of spiritual wealth.
Years from now, perhaps when you’re struggling or facing a giant fear in your life, you can look back on your entries. You can be reminded of other struggles that seemed insurmountable at the time. You can reacquaint yourself with big fears that turned out to be rather small. You can see the prayer requests that God answered, in expected and unexpected ways. You can see the ones He didn’t answer, much to your relief.
More than anything, though, journaling can give you a sense of how much you’ve grown in your walk with Christ. The entries in your journal are like marks on the spiritual doorframe of your life.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the fact that the things You’ve done in my life, the blessings You’ve showered on me, would fill volumes. Let me never forget them or take them for granted. Bless my efforts to keep a journal that honors You. Give me the wisdom to know what to write—to know what will impact me when I look back on it. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is an excerpt from Walking the Line: 90 Devotions of Truth and Hope Based on the Faith of Johnny Cash – a new devotional now available on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.
