Journaling is an important spiritual discipline. Like all the other disciplines we have investigated, journaling provides us with many benefits, not the least of which is helping us be with God.
There’s no question, we live in a noisy, crowded world. Journaling invites us into quiet. It forces us to be still and creates needed space for meeting with God. Furthermore, it clears the clutter of our much-too-easily distracted minds, helping us focus on communing with God. And, journaling involves not just the mind, not just the body, but both. This combined involvement helps us remain present and engaged.
Quiet, focused, present engagement with God through the discipline of journaling quite naturally draws us nearer to Him. In this position, we can look more closely at what is happening in our hearts and minds. It is here where we can see more clearly the work of the Holy Spirit and listen more intently as God speaks wisdom into our lives.
Capturing this work—what we see, what we hear, our thoughts, our questions, our responses—helps us grow in deeper relationship with God. It clarifies our understanding of His nature, provides a way for us to reflect upon and remember His character, and helps us build an intimate, authentic relationship with Him.
Through all these many ways, journaling helps us be with God. It helps grow our relationship with Him. But as convincing as they may be, these are not the only reasons to take up the spiritual discipline of journaling.
More Compelling Reasons for Journaling
JOURNALING HELPS BRING REST TO OUR SOUL.
Jesus knew the power of a rested soul. In fact, it is recorded that He regularly went off to a solitary place. Jesus, the Son of God, pulled away from His good works and from people in desperate need so that He could slow down and replenish. In our culture of busy, busy, busy, we are often so preoccupied with ourselves and our lives that we neglect replenishment.
JOURNALING AIDS IN REPLENISHMENT.
Looking once again at the life of Jesus, we notice that He not only got away to solitary places for rest and replenishment, but He also engaged in practices that allowed God’s grace to keep replenishing His spirit. Jesus prayed. He fed His mind with Scripture. He offered thanks. He spent time hanging out with a few close friends. The practices of Jesus offer this same replenishment to us. Remarkably, research shows that the benefits of these replenishing spiritual practices are increased when they are performed in conjunction with one another. Journaling slows us down, creates for us some much-needed space, and increases the benefits to our life of the other life replenishing disciplines.
JOURNALING BOOSTS RECALL AND RETENTION.
According to research published in the 2013 neurology journal Cortex, feedback involved in any form of handwriting puts multiple areas of the brain in action simultaneously, encouraging brain cells to communicate and connect with one another.
When we participate in the act of writing, our Reticular Activating System (RAS) is made active. Often referred to as a “command center,” the RAS is a tiny, but hugely productive, network of cells situated at the base of our brain. Here, it connects the cortex (the “thinking cap” area of the brain) to the brain stem. The RAS is responsible for attention, alertness, and motivation (all of which are essential to forming and retaining vivid memories). Additionally, the RAS filters all the information that our brain is required to process.
Studies show, in fact, that students who take notes on paper learn and retain more than those who use laptops. The reasons given for this difference are that “handwriting engages different paths of your brain, forces you to more fully process your thinking, creates more and better memory cues for later recall, and gives you an edge in understanding and remembering concepts.”
Even though that research was done in relation to college students, it applies to us as students of the Word.
JOURNALING HELPS US “SEE” MORE CLEARLY.
Our thoughts are fragmented, jumping quickly from one thing to another. (You know what I mean, right?) Writing is a linear process that helps us find the gaps in our thinking. The process helps us explore our true unmasked self, make connections we might not have otherwise been able to make, and document what God is currently teaching us.
JOURNALING BLESSES OUR LOVED ONES WITH A GIFT OF LEGACY.
The things written in our journal provide a record of our spiritual growth – for us and for our family. It’s a record we can look back on as a reminder of God’s persistent work in our lives. It is also a record of our God-stories for our loved ones to treasure as they read how God moved and worked in our life and in the life of our family.
The many benefits of journaling are, indeed, compelling, and our list could go on and on. However, the multitude of benefits do not lie in simply reading about the discipline of journaling. They lie in doing it. Whether you choose a traditional method or a more creative one, I encourage you to make journaling part of your time with the Lord.
Remember as you journal that even though you sit by yourself in a quiet place, you are not alone. God, your Father, is always with you. Slow down, quiet your body and your mind, focus your attention, and be present as you are replenished through the spiritual discipline of journaling.
May you be blessed as the time you spend with your heavenly Father becomes more intentional, consistent, and intimate. Be drawn ever closer to Him as you lean more and more into Him. Knowing Him and growing in Christlikeness.
