JULY 2014
Journaling Your Journey
In this issue
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What Journaling Can Do for You charles r. swindoll
6 Five Reasons You Should Journal robyn roste 8 Welcome to Whine Country phil callaway
What are the Keys to Answered Prayer?
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11 You're the Message steve johnson 14 Q & A: What are the Keys to Receiving What I Pray For? steve johnson
Copyright Š 2014 Insight for Living Canada. All rights reserved. No portion of this monthly publication may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher. Insights is published by IFLC, the Bible-teaching ministry of Charles R. Swindoll. IFLC is an autonomous ministry and certified member of the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture passages are taken from the NASB. Unless otherwise noted, photography and illustration by IFLC staff. Printed in Canada.
WHAT
JOURNALING CAN DO FOR YOU by charles r. swindoll
“ You have deeper thoughts than you realize, but they escape you because you don’t capture them.”
I
n 1957 as I was packing to head overseas to serve in the Marine Corps, my brother tossed me a book. It was titled Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. Reluctantly, I took the volume. Once I started it, however, I couldn’t put it down. The best parts of the book were the journal entries of Elisabeth’s husband Jim. I determined that if a man could have that kind of intimacy with God, right to the point of death—and could leave the legacy of his thoughts in written form for the whole world—then perhaps there was something to keeping a journal. I began journaling during my 16 months overseas. I saw my “thoughts disentangle themselves over the lips and through the fingertips,” a little saying I learned from a mentor who gave me my first journal. What Journaling Can Do for You continued from p. 3
As I have journaled off and on these past 57 years, life has been distilled for me through time. I want to capture those thoughts and have a record for the little hands of a grandchild or great-grandchild to move through when reading about their granddaddy. Best of all, I want to keep a journal because it is an intimate conversation with God. Here’s an example of something I wrote in the front of one of my journals: “Personal journal of my experiences as I waited on God for His guidance, beginning September 19, 1993, ending June 30, 1994.” That was one of the most tumultuous periods of my life as I sought the Lord’s will about my future ministry. This journal also contains letters from close friends. It holds my resignation letter to a former church, as well as my feel-
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ings that followed reading that resignation. The journal contains a chart I put together about the future of Insight for Living Ministries. Moving on, I find a letter from my youngest son and the inauguration ceremony notes at the beginning of my presidency at Dallas Theological Seminary. And right in the midst of it all, a prayer: “Lord, I praise Your name. This has become the breakthrough I needed and had asked of You as I waited.” The journals I kept during that time cultivated a deep serenity in my quiet moments with Him. I was often reminded of what my mother used to say: “Roots grow deep when the winds are strong.” Why do I share all of this with you? I want you to see how diverse my journal is. Some of the pages are hilarious! Don’t leave with the impression that if you begin to journal, you’ll become grim. You won’t. I think the discipline frees us and liberates us to enjoy life with the God who has given us the full spectrum of emotions. Webster’s defines journal as “a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly.”1 Kept regularly. You have deeper thoughts than you realize, but they escape you because you don’t capture them. If you’ve never kept a journal, you may wonder how to start. Easy, really. Open it to the first page, put your pen to the paper, and write the very first thing that comes to mind. This isn’t an essay contest. No one will grade you. In fact, no one will see it but you. (More on that later.) You aren’t required to write anything profound. Just write. In that place of solitude, let the words begin to flow. Perhaps you can start by writing a brief prayer to your heavenly Father. A journal is not a record of how
you’re spending your time; it’s actually a record of your spiritual journey. Don’t confuse it with your calendar, your organizer, or even your diary. A journal is an exercise in which the process, not the product, is the most important result. That’s why I do not use a computer. I urge you to pour your thoughts onto paper, by hand, without concern for grammar or spelling or punctuation, without worry or apology, without thinking about how it will read later. The journal is a tool to help you and the Holy Spirit make the best use of your time alone. Keep in mind that it is your journal, not something you write for someone else. I do not record my journey with God with the hope that someone will publish it someday. Yet my journals will become a part of the legacy I leave for my family after I’m gone. These words represent my deepest thoughts. They are my best and most intimate expressions, all handwritten. Journaling is worth the discipline it takes to cultivate the reward of intimacy with the Almighty. Remember Jim Elliot? In his journal are statements like, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”2 It’s those kinds of thoughts the Lord will give you when you discipline yourself to journal. I want that for you. Deep roots. Journaling will help make that happen.
1. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2007), see “journal.” 2. Jim Elliot, The Journals of Jim Elliot, ed. Elisabeth Elliot (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revel, 2004), 174.
Charles R. Swindoll serves as the senior pastor-teacher of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas.
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by robyn roste
I
have kept a journal as long as I can remember. Writing down ideas, thoughts, memories, goals, and to-do lists has always seemed important to me, although I can’t recall being taught to keep records per se. And my journals have changed forms over the years. All the way from the mini diary with a lock my brothers would steal and break into to the nondescript notebook I take with me everywhere. The dictionary says keeping a journal means recording daily events. I find this
basic definition comforting because it means anyone can do it. In fact, you’re probably already journaling without realizing it. Do you really never mark something in your calendar, or take notes at an interesting lecture? Have you never made yourself a grocery list or written down a great idea? These are all ways to journal. Over the years I’ve heard a lot of negative comments about keeping a journal— people calling it self-indulgent, narcissistic, and even a waste of time. If you’re on the anti-journal bandwagon I understand.
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But as someone who has seen nothing but positive consequences from years of writing things down I want to present five reasons, from my experience, why you should reconsider.
1.
YOU BECOME MORE OBSERVANT. One of the most interesting benefits I’ve noticed from keeping a journal is it trains you to notice what’s around you. When you know you’re going to write about it you begin to see the world with new eyes. You pick out colours, sounds, and smells. You reflect on the meaning of what you’re looking at rather than pass it by unnoticed.
2.
YOU BECOME MORE ORGANIZED. Writing things down helps you not only organize your life but your thoughts. Feel overwhelmed? Stressed out? Confused? Write about it. Take the time to make a plan. Break down your to-do list into manageable tasks, organize your day into hours, or write out your grocery list. Even simple tasks like these can be a stress reliever and help you be productive.
3.
YOU BECOME MORE GOAL-ORIENTED. When you keep a journal you’re more likely to notice when you’re not moving forward in life. Once you recognize this you can take control of your personal development. Setting goals is great but if you have no means to track your progress you’re apt to give up. By keeping a record of your progress you gain momentum to continue. Not only does it help you prioritize and set goals, it gives you progress you can actually measure.
relationships. Keeping a journal is an opportunity to spend time asking God to show you areas you can improve in, or ways you can become more like Him. It can be an important time of growing in self-awareness and maturity.
“When you keep a journal you’re more likely to notice when you’re not moving forward in life.”
5.
YOU BECOME A BETTER COMMUNICATOR. The more you write the better you are at articulating your thoughts and feelings. And the better you can communicate with yourself, the better you’ll be at communicating with others. Good communication skills are one of those things you’ll always need. Keeping a journal doesn’t have to be a basic activity. Sure some days are quiet and action-free but you don’t have to focus on that. Did you have an idea for something new? Write it down! How about inspiration for a new recipe? Might as well sketch it out so you don’t forget. Did you solve a problem you couldn’t the day before? What’s wrong with making note of your accomplishment and genius solution? Whether it’s a daily log or a few notes jotted when you’re inspired, keeping a journal can be a great way to know yourself better, see God’s hand in your life, and keep your stress level down. Why not give it a try?
4.
YOU BECOME MORE SELF-AWARE. Keeping a journal is not a group activity. It’s time spent away from distractions reflecting on your life, your day, and your
Robyn Roste is the Living Bridge Media manager at Insight for Living Canada.
by phil callaway
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I
am a chronic complainer. I grumble. I gripe. I have grievances. Sometimes my whining gets on my wife’s nerves. She says, “You should quit whining, Phil.” But I tell her, “I don’t like your tone of voice, Sweetie, it’s beginning to bother me.” I hate to admit it, but I have won the Wimbledon of Whining and the Grand Slam of Bellyaching all in the same week. These are the things I have found myself complaining about lately:
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• The water from our tap. It leaves smudges on our cups • Why I have to follow my teenagers around the house shutting lights off. It’s a full-time job • Long waits in doctors' offices with mediocre reading material • The weather, which includes snow in mid-April • Why the garbage truck never comes on time • Why all four wheels on my shopping cart go in opposite directions • Having to make the bed when I’m the last one out of it In the midst of my whining, something happened. Our family took a trip to a third-world country with Compassion. While we were there, God hit me with the shallowness of my outlook on life. The vast majority of these kids don’t stand at the fridge wondering what’s for supper. There is no fridge. There is no supper. Most of them don’t know who their father is.
I held children who were orphaned when their fathers were electrocuted trying to tap into power lines so the family could have one bare light bulb in their house. We stood in a village that a hurricane had completely levelled. Except for a church and the Compassion building. They told me the miraculous story with faces beaming. Yes, they’d lost everything. Yes, their homes had blown away. But the church was still standing.
"God HIT ME with the shallowness of my outlook on life." And there I stood in mid-grumble. The guy who gripes about the weather and lights left on and waiting on doctors. These people have never seen a doctor. I’m the guy with trivial complaints like the fact that I’m losing my hair; that it has gone underground and is coming out my ears. What on earth do I have to complain about? My grumbling had been the death of my thanksgiving. On the day we visited our sponsored child Carlos, the temperature was almost unbearable and we ran out of bottled water. Never in my short life had I experienced such raging thirst. Suddenly Carlos’ stepmother pulled from a small icebox the greatest gift imaginable: an ice-cold bottle of Coca Cola. I ran my fingers over that bottle and giggled like a fourth grader who had just heard the funniest joke imaginable. I held that bottle up to the
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light then sipped it slowly, relishing every drop as they crawled one by one down my eager throat. I have tasted Coca Cola since and I am amazed that they no longer use that glorious recipe. This drink was nectar straight from heaven. This drink was a companion and a friend and a teacher. It taught me a glorious secret to the joyful Christian life: give thanks for each and every blessing while we hold it in our hand. On the long flight home, I wrote a list of things I’m thankful for now that we’ve been in the Third World:
truck may be not be on time, but at least we don’t share sidewalk space with the garbage year-round • Shopping carts and grocery stores crammed with food. In my entire life, I don’t think I’ve ever had to literally go to bed hungry • Dot having to plug my dose. The assault on my nasal passages as we travelled through some of these communities was unbearable • A place to sleep tonight. Even if I have to make the bed in the morning
• Water that comes out of a tap. Clean cups to drink it with • Lights in the house. Even if they’re on too much • Waiting for the doctor in a waiting room complete with leather sofas, an aquarium, and hope • Snow in September. I’d golf all year in a warm climate and my wife just might consider murder • Garbage dumps outside our cities. The
Things still happen throughout my day that push my “whine” button. But more and more I’m learning to stop myself in mid-whine and let it give way to thanksgiving. This morning as I looked into the mirror, I found myself giving thanks for a comb and a toothbrush. Even if I only need one of them.
Phil Callaway is the editor of Servant magazine.
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by steve johnson
Your lives are echoing the Master’s Word.... The news of your faith in God is out. We don’t even have to say anything anymore—you’re the message! (1 Thessalonians 1:8 MSG)
I
n this day of consumerism and advertising we’re all aware of brands. A brand is what comes to mind when we think about a product. For example, the company Honda uses a distinct symbol on every product they produce. What we think of when we see the symbol is part of their brand built over years. There is also personal branding. This is essentially what we are known for and what people seek us out for. Our personal brand often involves causes we care about and revolves around our gifts, talents, abilities, personality, and defining life experiences. The way we live, the way we present ourselves, the way we care for ourselves, our loved ones, and friends—all of these aspects come together to create our personal brand, our message, and what we stand for and transmit to the world. Many of the characters in Scripture had a personal brand. They were known for certain things. Their lives embodied a message God used to further His mesYou're the Message continued from p. 11
sage. For example, David’s brand was “a man after God’s own heart,” (Acts 13:22). David’s relationship with God was a model for others to follow. Think of the prophet Hosea and his relationship with his wife Gomer. Theirs was a message to Israel about the nation’s unfaithfulness and God’s faithfulness (Hosea 2:1-13). Isaiah had a son he named Shear-Jashub, which means, “a remnant will return.” This name was a message to express Isaiah’s oft-repeated statement that a remnant of Israel would return to Yahweh (Isaiah 10:21). In the New Testament Simon the pebble became Peter the rock (Matthew 16:18), Saul the Pharisee became Paul the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 13). And John the Baptist did more than just baptize people—he embodied his message. Isaiah 40:3-5 states: “A voice of one calling: ‘In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.'” John’s voice was a “lone voice in the wilderness” (John 1:23) as he
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proclaimed the coming of the Messiah to a people who desperately needed a Saviour. John’s life was his message, which is why the angel gave his parents such specific instructions (Luke 1:5-25). By his simple life and prophet-like clothes and by refusing to drink alcohol, he spoke in the spirit and power of Elijah against the lifestyle of the day. John lived in a wilderness and wastelands, which spoke of Israel's failure. God's people, the vineyard of the Lord, had become a spiritual desert and John was calling them to repent. As followers of Christ our history becomes His story. God has created and shaped each of us on purpose, with a purpose, and for a purpose. For the Christian our life-message is rooted in declaring the glory and grace of God. Speaking louder than words, our life is the message God uses to tell others about Himself and His truth. Through our life-message others can be drawn closer to God. Our life-message may illustrate God’s faithfulness and provision in meagre times. It may tell a story of sustaining grace through terrible suffering. The way we handle stress, the quality of our relationships, the level of anxiety or peace we display, character qualities such as faith, kindness, integrity, and love—people will
know and feel our message much more from what we do than what we say. To discover our life-message we need to reflect on the following: What are my spiritual gifts, talents, and abilities? What Kingdom causes am I passionate about? What is my personality type? What defining life-experiences has God brought me through? What are the recurring themes in my life? What purpose do I think God has for me? In the vein of 1 Thessalonians 1:8 our aim should be for our lives to echo God’s Word. And what if we don’t like our current brand? What if we’ve blown it and people don’t think well of God because of us? Then re-brand! We can change the message we send out by doing what God wants us to do and being who God wants us to be. We can stop being an echo of our culture, our past, or the influence of other people. Become an authentic voice in today’s wilderness. Be the message that brings others closer to Christ. For reflection: What is your personal brand, your life-message? Every life tells a story. What does yours tell people about God? Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.
by steve johnson
What are the keys to receiving what I pray for? The Word of God instructs us to pray for something according to God’s will until we get it. Matthew 7:7 says “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” In the Greek text, the verbs “ask,” “seek,” and “knock” are in the present tense, thus describe an ongoing action. “Keep asking, keep searching, keep knocking.” We are exhorted to practice persistent repetition of our requests, not a formulaic repetition of words, which Jesus condemned (Matthew 6:7-8).
Here are four major keys to receiving answers to prayer. 1. Abide in the Lord and His Word. John 15:7 records Jesus saying, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
And 1 John 3:22 states, “...we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.” Jesus promised that if we live in close fellowship with Him and allow His Word to live in us and we obey it, we will see answered prayer. But if our hearts are distant or there is sin in our lives we cannot expect answers to prayer. Jesus also said “…apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Abiding in Him means knowing we are utterly dependent and must look to Him for every need. 2. Pray according to God’s Will. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). How can we be sure we know the will of God? God has revealed His will through His Word. Praying according to God’s will
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means knowing what truths or promises in Scripture apply to our situation and praying to receive the benefit of them. It’s His will to do what He’s promised or said He desires. Additionally, although Jesus knew the will of God regarding His death, He prayed outside the will of God asking “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). From this we learn we can humbly ask for things when we don’t know God’s will in a matter. 3. Believe, don’t doubt. “But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7). When we know God’s will as revealed in Scripture and believe what He has said and promised, we will receive our request. Solid faith is not based on unstable and fluctuating feelings, emotions, or circumstances. It comes and grows as we grow in our knowledge of God and His Word and put our faith in Him (Romans 10:17). True faith always believes God will do what He says. It does not claim that the Lord will give what He has not promised.
Instead it trusts God has our best interests at heart when we ask for things that are lawful but not promised to us. In such cases, faith trusts that the Lord is good whether His answer is yes or no. 4. Persevere. Prayers may go unanswered because we give up praying before we receive an answer. Jesus taught us to “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). As long as we have the promises in Scripture, we ought to be persistent, patient, and believing, no matter how long an answer takes. God has a “due season” (Galatians 6:9) when He will bring the answer to pass. One could thoughtfully ask, “If God has a timetable, and will only answer my prayer when it’s His time, then why keep praying?” The answer is because God said persistent prayer is the means by which He will bring things to pass. This means our prayer is an important part of fulfilling God’s plans. I hope this helps. -Steve Steve Johnson is the executive director at Insight for Living Canada.
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on the air THIS MONTH Living Portraits of the Church 4 CD messages
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Clearing Away the Trash We Regret booklet by Charles R. Swindoll, 30 pages
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It’s Time to Embrace Grace booklet by Charles R. Swindoll, 35 pages
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Jesus: The Greatest Life of All paperback by Charles R. Swindoll, 308 pages
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Three Years with Jesus: A Pictorial Journey Through the Ministry of Christ softcover devotional by Insight for Living, 72 pages
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