Journaling

On Being Vulnerable

I recently wrote a post on how I like to journal (read it here).

In the post I mentioned being vulnerable before God.

Sometimes, we try to hold back and not talk to God about certain things.

Things we’re ashamed of, embarrassed by, hurt from.

Here’s the thing. – God already knows about it!

Because God is all seeing and all knowing (omniscient), He knows absolutely everything about everyone and everything already.

There are no thoughts we can think that He doesn’t hear.

There is nothing we can do He doesn’t see.

So, when we try to hold things back from Him we are only fooling ourselves.

Not only that, all these things we keep holding back from Him are the very things He wants us to bring to Him.

Bringing ourselves before the Lord and laying our hearts open can be scary.

We’re afraid He will be shocked – He won’t. There’s nothing He hasn’t seen.

We’re afraid He will reject us because we are so “bad”. He won’t. He loves us unconditionally, no matter what!

Sometimes, part of the problem is, sometimes we don’t want to have to face what we’ve done.

We’d rather turn a blind eye to it, bury it deep within ourselves, and move one.

The problem with that is that not only is it still there, but God sees it and wants us to bring it out and share it with Him.

We might be able to bury it temporarily, but He’ll keep reminding us of it.

The sooner we bring it to Him and face it, the sooner we can get rid of it and stop it from hanging over our head.

The consequences may still be there, but He will walk us through it and comfort us as we go.

Another part might be that we don’t realize or we’ve forgotten that He is our Father

As a parent, He wants us to bring our broken things to Him so He can fix them – broken relationships, broken habits, broken thoughts, broken lives.

When we are brave enough to go to Him with these things, even if we can only do it one tiny bit at a time, He will begin to heal and restore us.

As He does, we will begin to see and feel His comfort, which will help us to trust Him more.

As we trust Him more, we can bring the bigger things to Him as we open our hearts to Him more.

It’s this heart opening that we do that allows us to be vulnerable with Him.

It won’t always be easy.

Sometimes there will be substantial pain.

But, at the end of the day we will be closer to God, relying more and more on His love and mercy, trusting Him and His love more and more.

That’s a pretty good place to be!

If there is something you are hiding or holding back from the Lord, I hope you will bring it to Him and ask Him to help and to heal you in that area.

It may be hard, but the peace, relief, and healing you receive will be so worth it!

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 (NIV)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV)

To read my previous post on journaling,, please click here.

Category: God, Journaling, Trust | LEAVE A COMMENT

For several years now I’ve had the habit of journaling.

Typically, I do it first thing in the morning before I start my day.

I’ve found that writing before the world has a chance to distract me means that my truer, unguarded self comes out on the page.

Sometimes, I vent about people and events.

Sometimes I remind myself I need to buy milk.

Always. by the end of the second page I find God there.

As I’m listing my thoughts I begin to think about and then ask the Lord’s opinion on things.

I begin to become aware of where He’s working in my life and where I need to pray and ask Him to intervene and help me.

Some days I write 3 pages, some days I write 10.

Always, I make a point of laying aside all pretenses and focusing on being my true self, writing my real feelings.

Category: God, Journaling, Life, Trust, Truth | LEAVE A COMMENT

Proverbs 20:5

During my quiet time I was reading Proverbs, chapter 20.

Verse 5 really spoke to me:

The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out. (NIV)

It reminded me of my morning journaling and how I use those pages to take the thoughts and concerns of my heart before the Lord.

Journaling gives me a chance to spread my true feelings and thoughts out and examine them as I seek guidance and wisdom both through prayer and through searching Scriptures for verses that speak to each situation.

The purposes (or motives) of my heart are not always pure.

Sometimes they need adjusted. I need reminded to bring them into alignment with God’s will. I need convicted of, and corrected for, my sinful thoughts and selfish ideas.

The feelings run deep. Deep hurts. Deep fears. Deep imperfections. Deep hungers.

Bringing them out to allow Christ to shine the light of Truth on them means He can show me where to change, what to adjust, where to keep on keeping on.

This helps me to become more like Christ and to be in a better position to serve the Kingdom.

It allows me to become who God has called me to be.

It is this spreading out before the Lord that allows those feelings to be sorted, healed, and dealt with. It allows Him to remind me that He loves me and that He has each situation under control and on track, even when I can’t see Him working.

That’s a great reassurance to me because I know that means God is taking care of me in all these situations and all I have to do is trust Him as He works all things together for good.

He’s a good God and He will take care of those who love Him!

What about You?

Do you have a method you use to draw out your heart thoughts so you can bring them into alignment with Christ and with God’s will for your life?

If so, I’d love for you to tell me about it in the comments below.

Category: Journaling, Life, Submission | LEAVE A COMMENT