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Journal as a Pathway to Joy · Reformed Thinking

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Welcome to Reformed Thinking, the show where we take a stack
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of sources and really try to distill them into essential
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knowledge for you. Today we're taking a close look
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at a habit, a practice many of us might have considered, maybe
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even tried, but perhaps not with its full spiritual scope and
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view. I'm talking about journaling.
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Indeed, and our source material for this deep dive is mainly
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from David Mathis, particularly his thoughts on journal as a
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pathway to Joy from his book Habits of Grace.
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Right. We'll try to unpack how this
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practice can genuinely well enhance your spiritual walk and,
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importantly, deepen your joy in Christ.
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So our mission today really is to uncover the insights into how
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journaling can be, well, a lot more than just keeping a
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personal diary. It's framed here as an
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opportunity to grow, to reflect and connect with God's grace in
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some tangible ways. A tool that you know has
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actually aided countless believers throughout church
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history. It's not a new idea.
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Not at all. OK, so let's start with maybe
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redefining it because I think for many of us, when you say
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journaling, a certain picture comes to mind.
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Definitely maybe something kind of self absorbed or perhaps for
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adolescents, you know, sorting through teenage angst.
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Right. Or just impractical?
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Impractical. Yeah.
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Like it takes a precious time you could be spending on well
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present duties or future plans. Mathis points out these are
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common initial thoughts. That feeling of what, Me
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journal? I'm just too busy.
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Too busy with today and tomorrow to look back at yesterday, yeah?
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He says we might dismiss it as a too heavy on navel gazing and
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too light on real world value. That's a good phrase for it,
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Navel gazing. It captures that hesitation,
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doesn't it? It does, but what's interesting
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right off the bat is how Mathis immediately reframes this OK.
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How so? Well, he moves journaling beyond
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that whole navel gazing idea or just, you know, recording the
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past, right? Instead, he positions it as a
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significant means of grace. OK, a means of grace.
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Let's unpack that a bit, especially for listeners
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familiar with our reformed framework.
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What does that mean here? Not saving grace, obviously.
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No, absolutely not saving grace, but a practical channel, maybe a
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conduit through which God's sustaining grace can flow into
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our lives. It provides genuine spiritual
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benefit. OK, so it's an instrument God
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can use. Exactly, and this is really key.
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It's not about creating some, you know, impressive catalog of
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your accomplishments or your brilliant insights for someone
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else to read later. Right, like you're writing for
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history. Yeah.
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Mathis actually says that thought you know should be set
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aside before you even pick up your pen.
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The aim isn't self glorification at all.
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That really shifts the focus, doesn't it?
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From potentially a very self-centered thing to something
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God centered. Completely, it's geared towards
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spiritual maturity. It challenges that secular view
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of journaling as just like self help trick for the Christian.
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It becomes a distinct spiritual discipline designed to point us
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away from ourselves and towards Christ.
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That distinction is so helpful. Now, you mentioned, and Mathis
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notes, it's not a strict biblical command.
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Jesus didn't leave us a journal, you know, a written record of
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his daily thoughts. So for some people, that might
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make it feel, well, less vital than prayer or Bible reading.
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How does Mathis encourage embracing it as this powerful
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opportunity? If it's not commanded, Is there
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freedom in that? That's a great question.
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Yeah. And yes, I think there's a real
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liberty there. It's true.
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It's not commanded like reading Scripture or praying OK, But
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Masses puts it in this category of let's say, helpful means,
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things that help us engage with God's primary channels of grace,
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His Word, prayer, the sacraments.
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So it's an aid for grace, not grace itself.
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Precisely that distinction makes sense, I think, within our
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theological understanding and the freedom from obligation,
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that's liberating. How so?
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It means you don't come at it with this like legalistic
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burden. I have to do this.
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Right, another thing to check off the list.
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Exactly. A good journal, Matthew says, is
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really what you make. It could be digital, could be a
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physical notebook, formal, informal, long entry, short ones
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daily or just occasionally. So it's very adaptable.
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Hugely adaptable, yeah, which means it can fit into anyone's
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life without some rigid method you have to follow.
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And that adaptability is probably why so many different
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people throughout church history found it helpful, right?
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You mentioned Augustine, Jonathan Edwards.
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Exactly. They found it a regular means of
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God's grace. Yeah, because it could be
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tailored to their own needs, their own temperaments.
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It meets you where? You are, alas, for creativity,
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personalization. Without that weight of.
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Am I doing this right? According to the rules, it's a
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tool for spiritual progress, not, you know, a mandate for
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salvation. OK, that leads us nicely into
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the purpose of it then. If it's not self admiration,
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what is the central goal? Yeah, this is where it gets
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really distinctively Christian. Mephis is very clear.
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It's not about documenting your great deeds or brilliant
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thoughts for, you know, posterity.
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No. That kind of focus, he says, is
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something we need to sort of die to before we even start writing.
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Die to it. Wow, OK.
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The orientation is completely different.
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It lants us away from ourselves towards something much higher.
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OK, the core goal, as Mathis puts it, is the glory of Christ,
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Not our own glory, right? Right.
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But your ongoing progress in His likeness for the expanding and
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enriching of your joy. OK.
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So progress and likeness, expanding joy, those are the
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aims. That's the heart of it, yeah.
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Christian journaling, in this view, is fundamentally about
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deepening your joy in the present.
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Deepening joy now. Yes, he calls it a pathway for
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joy and a means of grace that's greatly beneficial in ripening
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our joy along the journey. Ripening our joy.
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I like that image. It sets it apart from just
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secular journaling, doesn't it? It anchors it firmly in
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Christian faith spiritual growth.
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It's not just about feeling good, it's about cultivating
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this specific kind of spiritual delight.
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Exactly a delight that reflects glory back to Christ.
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It's a purposeful nurturing of gladness in God, not just, you
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know, writing down what happened today.
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Directing our affections, our attention to the true source of
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joy. Which is always him, always
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found in Christ. You know that idea of slowing
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life down, processing the details for enjoyment and for
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God's glory? That really strikes a chord.
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Our world just pushes us faster and faster, doesn't it?
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Consume more, do more, reflect less constantly.
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But journaling as described here, it's like an invitation to
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pause, to take a little sliver of our experience, as Mathis
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puts it, and process it for a higher purpose.
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Finding God's hand in the small things, maybe things we'd
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otherwise miss. Yeah, finding meaning, finding
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beauty through that spiritual lens, this intentional
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processing, it seems, is what helps grow that deeper, more
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specific joy. Grounding us in gratitude for
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God's constant activity around us.
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It's a conscious choice, isn't it, to be present with the Lord
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in our thoughts? Fostering a greater awareness of
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his presence. So how does it actually do that?
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How does journaling achieve this goal of expanding joy?
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Well, Mathis highlights that journaling has this unique
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appeal of mingling the motions of our lives with the mind of
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God. Mingling our lives with God's
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mind. OK.
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When it's and this is important when it's saturated with
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scripture and permeated with prayer.
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OK, so not just random thoughts, no.
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When those elements are present, it becomes a tangible way of
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hearing God's voice in the Scriptures and at the same time
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making known to Him our requests.
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So it connects Bible intake and prayer.
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Exactly. He calls it a sub discipline of
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both, especially prayer. The hope is that a spirit of
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prayer kind of pervades the whole thing, and that God's Word
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inspires, shapes, directs what you're pondering and writing.
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So the journal isn't just a blank page reflecting you, it's
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a space where your life meets God's Word and prayer.
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Yes, a sacred space, you could almost say, where your thoughts
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about life are brought into dialogue with God's truth and
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offered up to Him. It makes the engagement more
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active, doesn't it? More personal moving from just
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receiving truth to actually processing it, applying it.
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Right, which fosters a more intentional relationship with
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God. It helps us apply those big
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gospel truths to our everyday, you know, struggles and joys.
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Deepening our appreciation for God's grace.
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Yes, and his mercy. OK, so the source then breaks
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this down further, looking at how journaling touches different
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parts of our timeline, past, future and present.
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Yeah, it shows its reach, how it can work in our lives
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comprehensively. It's not just about 1 moment,
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but engaging our whole existence in relation to God.
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A3 pronged approach. OK, let's start with the past.
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How does journaling help us capture the past?
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Mathos talks about it as a way of recording God's Providence.
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That's providences. So capturing important events,
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yes, but also those moments where maybe serendipity breaks
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in with divine fingerprints. Divine fingerprints.
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I like that. Moments where you can really see
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God's hand. Exactly, and writing them down
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makes them available for future reference so we don't forget
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these specific displays of His goodness, His faithfulness, His
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care. Because we do forget, don't we?
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So easily. We do.
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So it's about seeing the divine in the everyday or in the big
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moments, and consciously attributing it to God's
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sovereign plan, His wisdom. It counters that tendency to
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forget or just take blessings for granted.
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Right. It helps us sort of catalog his
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goodness, like those stones of remembrance in the Old Testament
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in a way. Yeah, that's a helpful picture.
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And doing that, recording those Providence's, it naturally
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cultivates gratitude and praise to God.
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Mathis brings in that line from John Newton's hymn His Grace
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have Brought me safe thus far. A.
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Classic. And it illustrates perfectly how
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looking back at those written figures helps us remember
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specific blessings, specific ways God brought us through.
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Without those records, the specifics can fade.
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We might have a general sense of God's faithfulness, but the
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journal gives us concrete examples.
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Tangible memory aids allowing us to recount his faithfulness with
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precision. And offer specific, heartfelt
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thanks. You track the unfolding story of
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God's interaction with you personally.
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Deepening appreciation for His grace in your own life.
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Confirming his character, his goodness.
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It's saying look what the Lord has done specifically for me.
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And it's not just what happened, right?
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Mathis says. It helps us recall how we were
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thinking and feeling about it at the time.
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Yes, and that's crucial for insight.
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It prevents us from forgetting not just the blessing, but maybe
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the struggle before the blessing.
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Or the frustration, the anxiety. Exactly.
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And then seeing God's activity in hindsight become so much
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clearer. You might read an old entry
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about a really hard time, your anxieties, your prayers, and
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then years later you see how God answered, how He sustained you,
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how your perspective shifted as you leaned on Him.
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That provides such concrete evidence of his hand, doesn't
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it? It solidifies faith, confirms
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his care. Yeah, increases thankfulness.
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It really shows how tis grace hath brought me safe thus far in
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a very personal way. Fostering deeper trust for
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whatever's next. OK, so that's looking back.
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What about looking forward? How does journaling help build a
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better future? Well, the idea is that writing
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isn't just a passive recording of a fleeting thought, right?
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It actually plants deeper seeds for what's ahead, committing
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thoughts to paper or a screen. It does something more.
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It shapes our inner landscape, our future actions.
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That's the idea. The act of writing makes
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thoughts less transient, give them more substance, more
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persistence in our minds. Setting a course for intentional
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living maybe instead of just drifting.
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Yeah, being pre active in spiritual growth, Mathis says
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When we write careful thoughts about God, Scripture, ourselves,
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the world, those impressions get stamped more deeply on our
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souls. Yeah, that's.
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Probably deeply. And that changes us more, both
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short term and long run. It's about real spiritual
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development, sanctification. Articulating helps solidify
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conviction, leading to actual changes in behavior or attitude.
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Yes, it's a proactive way to cultivate that Christ like
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character, letting truth sink from the head into the heart,
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shaping who we're becoming, conforming us to His image.
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It's a tool for self governance under God's Word.
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Moving from just receiving truth to actively applying it, guiding
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us toward a more righteous life. And practically speaking, this
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helps us, as Mathis says, identify where we need to
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change. Right and set goals, pinpoint
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priorities, monitor progress in other spiritual habits.
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Like what? Maybe consistency in Bible
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reading or prayer? Or maybe working on a specific
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area of self-control like patience or managing anger.
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Journaling gives you a space to articulate those goals.
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Track your efforts, notes, successes or struggles.
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It becomes a tool for accountability not just to
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yourself but before God as you reflect on your growth and your
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need for His grace. Helps us be sober minded about
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our spiritual state, as the Westminster Standards encourage.
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Exactly. And there's another benefit,
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maybe one people overlook. Oh yeah?
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What's that? Mathis says the regular
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discipline of journaling will help you to grow as a
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communicator and writer. Huh.
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Interesting. How so?
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He calls it a sandbox, a safe, private place to try your hand
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at daring metaphors and literary flair.
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Take practice swings. Yeah, before you communicate
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more publicly, whether that's teaching, leading a study, or
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even just having better conversations.
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So practicing articulating thoughts clearly in private
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helps you do it better in public.
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It seems so. It hones your ability to
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formulate and express your beliefs, makes you more
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articulate, more thoughtful, all hopefully for the sake of the
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gospel and God's glory. OK, so we've looked at past and
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future, but Mathis says the most significant impact is on the
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present. Yes, this is where it really
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connects to our immediate experience, making the now more
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spiritually vibrant more joyful. How does it do that?
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He breaks it down further right, starting with examine right.
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Journaling offers an important place for introspection and self
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examination in the Christian life.
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Self examination. Helping us learn to think with
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sober judgement about ourselves. Quoting Romans 12.3.
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So honestly assessing our spiritual state, motives,
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reactions, desires. Without getting puffed up with
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pride or crushed by self condemnation, it's a quiet space
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to honestly confront our inner world before God.
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Examining our conscience in light of his.
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Word a tool for self knowledge, yes, but not just for its own
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sake. The goal is repentance, greater
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reliance on Christ, his work for us.
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And importantly, it's not meant to keep us stuck focusing only
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on ourselves, right? Absolutely not.
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The text urges us to move beyond mere self focus to getting
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outside yourself and being caught up in something great, in
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particular someone great. Catching sight of God again.
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Yes, Mathis suggests starting with your heart state.
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Whatever it is. Sad, angry, anxious.
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Be honest, be real about those feelings.
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Don't ignore them, but acknowledge them and then.
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And then intentionally redirect your gaze to God.
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Bring those true feelings to Him.
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Bring your authentic, messy self into His presence, knowing He
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receives you in Christ. OK, so examine honestly, then
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look to God. And through that, asked for
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grace to look beyond your circumstances, however bleak, to
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finding hope in. Him like the Psalms often do.
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Exactly. He mentions the frequent pattern
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in the Psalms. Maybe killing harrowed.
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You know, deeply distressed, troubled and hopeful.
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So journaling becomes a way to preach the gospel freshly to
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yourself. Yes, tailoring the application
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to your specific situation, not just repeating, you know, canned
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lines of truth. So if you're worried about
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finances, you write that down, then search scripture for
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relevant promises. And record how those truths
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apply directly, personally to that specific worry.
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Making the gospel a living, active word in your daily life.
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Breathing hope into despair. Precisely.
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OK, so after examine comes meditate.
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How does journaling aid meditation?
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Mathis. Calls journaling the handmaid of
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Christian meditation, especially meditation on scripture, the.
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Handmaid. Like a helper, right?
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Yeah. It helps you process and retain
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what you're learning from God's Word.
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Helps it sink in deeper than just a quick read.
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Allows for that deeper spiritual digestion of truth.
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Yeah, he calls it your Laboratory of Learning.
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Laboratory of Learning, I like that.
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You can take a passage, maybe one from the Gospels or a
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confusing bit of scripture, and you can pose a hard question,
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propose A biblical answer, and apply it to your heart and life.
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You're interacting with the text.
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Wrestling with it, considering how it speaks to you right now.
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Maybe it's a verse on sovereignty when you feel
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anxious, or forgiveness when you feel bitter.
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Writing out your thoughts, questions, conclusions forces
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deeper engagement. Letting God's Word penetrate
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more deeply, fostering greater understanding, more practical
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application. Really digesting scripture,
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letting it nourish your soul. OK.
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And the third aspect of enriching the present is
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disentangle, draw out and dream. That sounds intriguing.
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It is. The idea here is that the very
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act of writing facilitates careful thinking, catalyzes deep
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feeling, and inspires intentional action.
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So it's an act of process, engaging your whole person,
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right? Putting words on the page forces
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you to clarify those vague thoughts, articulate those
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swirling emotions. It brings order to internal
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chaos. Gives shape and coherence to
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things that might otherwise just float around inside.
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Exactly, And Mathis notes that deep joy and satisfaction can
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come from getting our complicated and confusing
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thoughts and feelings into words on the page.
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Why is that satisfying, do you think?
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He suggests it helps to finish thoughts and emotions that might
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otherwise stay incomplete, like half form sentences hanging in
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your mind. Those undefined anxieties or
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unexpressed hopes. Writing gives them structure,
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brings them to a conclusion that offers clarity, resolution,
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maybe even spiritual peace. Helping us be more sober minded,
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live thoughtfully before God. Yes, and Mathis describes this
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as having a crystallizing effect.
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Crystallizing. Yeah, writing doesn't capture
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what's already inside us. But in the very act of writing,
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we enable our heads and hearts to take the next step, then two,
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then three. So it actually develops the
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thought or feeling further. It seems so.
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It leads to a greater depth of experience, like bringing a
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blurry photo into sharp focus. The ideas, the emotions become
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more defined, more understandable.
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And more impactful on our souls. It's a dynamic process, not just
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transcription, but discovery. It's amazing, isn't it, how God
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made us this way? Mathis touches on that.
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He does that God made a world so ready for written words and
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designed human beings so naturally to write them and read
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them. Our minds can take thoughts
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further in writing than just in our heads.
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We can handle more detail sustained reflection in a way
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our short term memory can't manage alone.
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And all this clarity, this processing, it also opens space
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to dream. Yeah, dream about new endeavors
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and fresh initiatives that align with God's will when our minds
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are clearer, emotions processed, hearts tuned to God's Word.
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We create room for him to maybe inspire new visions, new
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purposes. Aligning our desires with His
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plan for our service in His Kingdom.
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Wow. OK, so that covers the why and
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the what. Let's move to the how, The
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practical side. Mathis gives five ways to
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flourish in journaling. Yes, how to make it stick even
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when you feel? Stuck, and he starts by saying
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there's essentially no wrong way to do it.
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Make it your own. That's quite freeing, isn't it?
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It really is. It takes the pressure off
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performing according to someone else's ideal, some rigid set of
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rules. Just personalize it, find what
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works for you. Right, emphasizing creativity,
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not being locked into one way or suffocated by someone else's
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paradigm. Then he gives 5 specific pieces
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of advice. Aimed at helping you get going
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or keep going. For God's glory, the good of
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others, and deepening your own joy.
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Finding what fits your life, your temperament while keeping
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the spiritual goals clear. OK .1, keep it simple.
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Journaling is a gift for the long haul, he says.
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So a quick, intense burst that you can't sustain isn't as
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valuable. Right.
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A flash in the pan attempt has limited value.
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Consistency, even small bits, is better than sporadic,
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unsustainable efforts. Avoid the burnout.
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So his advice is be modest in your plans for frequency and
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length of entries. Don't set yourself up for
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failure by aiming too high at the start.
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Exactly. If you think it requires half an
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hour, 45 minutes every single day, you're much less likely to
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develop the habit than if your expectation is, say, 5 minutes.
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5 minutes? That sounds doable.
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Very practical wisdom. He even suggests just writing
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something short during daily devotions, Even just one
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sentence. Just one sentence.
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As a starting point or a way to get back into it, that baby step
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approach builds momentum, makes it feel less daunting.
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Cultivating regularity even with tiny contributions.
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Letting God meet you there. Exactly.
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OK, second piece of advice, don't catch up.
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This one hits the perfectionism nerve, doesn't it it?
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Really does that pressure to have a complete record?
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Mathis says very plainly, journaling should serve your
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life, not vice versa. It's easy to think your journal
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has to capture everything important to be, you know,
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legitimate. But that's impossible and trying
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will just lead to frustration and probably giving up.
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So what does he say? He makes it clear even the best
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of lifelong journals are incomplete.
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They can't possibly hold everything significant.
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It's just not possible. No, he says.
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It need not be an exhaustive record of your existence.
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It must not. It can't.
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That is incredibly freeing. Let go of that expectation.
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Your journal is a tool for your spiritual well-being, for
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connecting with God, not a comprehensive historical
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archive. Focus on the quality of
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reflection in the moment, not the quantity of entries covering
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every single day. Right.
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Less anxiety, greater spiritual benefit.
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OK #3 take God seriously, but not yourself.
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Oh I like this one. That balance between reverence
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for God and humility about ourselves.
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Very reformed in a way, recognizing God's sovereignty,
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his worth and our own limitations, our tendency
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towards self deception. Right.
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So taking God seriously means Mathis says it's vital,
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saturating it with Scripture and permeating it with prayer.
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Keep it Godward. Use specific Bible texts, craft
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careful prayers. He.
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Uses his great metaphor, journaling and private prayer
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can act as the thermostat for setting our gauges of gravity
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about Jesus and his providences and our relationship with Him.
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Setting our gauges of gravity? That's powerful, helping us
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calibrate how seriously, how thoughtfully we're considering
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God's work. Keeping our focus on Christ and
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His gracious rule, not just our own feelings.
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OK, so that's taking God seriously.
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What about the not yourself part?
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Well, first, don't expect your journal to be some public
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document. Right.
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Don't write for an imaginary audience.
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Mattha says it's very likely that no one else will ever read
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your journal, maybe not even your kids, after you're gone.
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Sobering but also freeing. Right for your own souls Good
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without constantly looking over your shoulder.
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Allows for real honesty, real vulnerability before God, what
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you need for genuine growth. Exactly.
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A private conversation. And the other part of not taking
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yourself too seriously is holding your own interpretations
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of God's providences, your intuitions, a bit loosely.
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OK, what does that mean practically?
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Take Scripture with utmost seriousness, absolutely, but
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proceed cautiously when you think you hear God's voice or
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see His direction, just through circumstances or timings.
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Be careful about subjective impressions.
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Yes, he specifically warns, do not let one dramatic flurry of
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journaling inspiration direct a major life decision without
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carefully testing it over time and in community.
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Wow OK so test insights, don't just run with a feeling you got
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while writing. Right.
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It warns against presumption. Subjectivism, urges discernment,
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accountability within the Church.
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Our private thoughts need to be weighed against God's objective
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Word and the wisdom of other believers.
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That's really important. Counsel.
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OK #4 bring the gospel. Yes, perhaps the most critical
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advice for the Christian journaler.
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Making the gospel specific and personal to your daily life.
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Using the journal to apply it with specificity to your fears
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and frustrations, their highs and lows, their joys and
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sorrows. Not just knowing the gospel
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generally, but preaching it to yourself right where you are.
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Yes, and again, follow that psalmist pattern.
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If you start harrowed, try to close with hope.
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He points to 2nd Corinthians 4, right?
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Yes, verses 8:00 and 9:00. When afflicted, rejoice you're
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not crushed. When perplexed, drive away
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despair. When persecuted, remember you're
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not forsaken. When struck down, no, you will
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not be destroyed. Using that scriptural truth as a
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framework for processing hardship.
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Finding God's grace in it. It's a pattern for resilience,
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for joy, a reminder God never abandons his own re centering on
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Christ's sufficiency. So your journal becomes this
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venue for freshly preaching the gospel to yourself in your
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particular circumstances. Avoiding just parroting the
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stock lines of truth. Instead, capture in your own
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words what you're truly feeling and then look for God's words
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that meet your need. Tailor make the application for
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today. That personalization is vital.
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Taking the big truths of Christ, His life, death, resurrection,
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and applying them precisely to your situation.
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Making the gospel alive, active, a real source of comfort and
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strength for you. Exactly.
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OK, finally #5 stay with it. Perseverance always key in the
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Christian life. Mathis stresses perseverance
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over the long haul. What happens when the newness
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wears off? When you just don't feel like
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it? He says remember, it's natural
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to come against a barrier like this whenever forming a helpful
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new habit. All spiritual disciplines face
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that, don't they? Dry seasons, difficulty, lack of
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inspiration. But pressing through those
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times, trusting God is still at work.
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That's part of the growth process.
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Good habits require grace, yes, but also grit.
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Consistency brings the benefit. And it's not just grit in our
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own strength. No, definitely not.
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We're encouraged to ask for God's help to press through the
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friction. He cites scripture here too,
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right? First Peter Colossians.
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Yes, first Peter 4.1 oven for the strength that God supplies,
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and colossians 1.29 about striving with all his energy
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that He powerlessly works within me.
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Reminding us we rely on God's gracious provision, His divine
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assistance, not our own motivation.
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We pray for his help to sustain us in the habit, knowing He
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empowers us for every good work. That's our reformed
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understanding, isn't it? Yeah.
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His sovereignty, His grace working in US.
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It really is, and Mathis uses this picture to wrap it up A.
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Rusty crank, Yeah. Often the hardest part is simply
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sitting down and turning that rusty internal prank to begin
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letting the words run. Captures that initial resistance
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perfectly, doesn't it? Starting anything disciplined,
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especially something requiring stillness and thought.
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But once the doors open, oh how the stream can flow.
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Once you push past that hurdle, start writing, the thoughts and
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feelings can just pour out, bringing clarity, refreshment, a
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sense of God's presence. A small step yielding lasting
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fruit. Well, this deep dive into
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Mathis's reflections, it's really shown that Christian
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journaling is much more than just keeping a diary.
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Definitely. It's presented as a genuine
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pathway for joy, a practical tool for spiritual growth,
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touching past, present, future. A unique space to engage with
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God's grace, examine our hearts, discern His providences.
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It really encourages A clearer grasp of God's grace and helps
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us grow more into Christ likeness, a tangible way to
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connect our lives with God's mind.
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Expanding our joy through that intentional reflection,
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examination, meditation, all rooted in scripture and prayer.
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A means God uses to shape us into his Son's image.
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So thinking about all this, what might it mean for you listening
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right now? Maybe just consider how even one
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sentence just what written with God in mind?
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Maybe reflecting on a verse or a prayer for a specific need, how
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that might begin to shift things in your spiritual life.
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It's not about literary masterpieces, just consistent,
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humble engagement. It really is an opportunity just
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waiting there. Pick up a pen, open a document,
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and just begin that conversation with the Lord.
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Let His Word guide your thoughts, guide your prayers.