How to Find More Peace, Joy, and Comfort in your Day

• What if there was a way to drown out the noise of the world around you so you could find more peace and meaning in your life?

•  What if it only took 5 minutes a day so that you could do it even in the busiest seasons of your life. 

• What if it cost nothing but you gained rest, peace, comfort, joy, and purpose. Would you give it a try? I did, and I found an abundance of all those things when I started journaling about when and where I saw God at work in my day.

A Different Kind of Journal

I’ve journaled off and on since I was in junior high, but journaling as a reminder of where I saw God’s hand in my life is only something I recently started doing. 

A sweet friend of mine shared a bible study book with me, “Experiencing God,” by Henry & Richard Blackaby Claude King. Tucked away in the lessons of that study book was the best advice I ever received. He suggested to start writing the moments where you saw God in your life. That simple advice led me to start a faith journal.

What is a Faith Journal 

A faith journal is simply a place to write a moment that you “saw” God in your day. This could be found in something like a phrase or scripture that keeps coming up throughout your week. Or It could be a random thought that enters your mind that doesn’t seem like something you ever would have thought on your own. It could even be as simple as catching a glimpse of how the trees look when the sun rises.

Benefits of Starting a Faith Journal

Journal to Gain Peace 

Have you ever felt unsettled but not known why? Journaling with God can provide the peace your heart craves. That is not to say you will be without trouble, but knowing, seeing, and remembering God is with you always can give your heart and mind rest.

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

Journal to Replace Negative Thoughts with Positive Ones

Our minds tend to remember the awkward moments where we feel insecure or embarrassed. 

• I remember my daughter once asked me, “Why do we randomly remember a time something embarrassing happens to us and not a time when we are at our best?” That question really got me thinking.  

• I’m sure you’ve experienced the same phenomenon when you are going about your day, and then all of a sudden, a less than flattering moment you experienced pops into your head from years before. Maybe it’s about a mistake you made, or when you failed at something, or a time you felt embarrassed. But why doesn’t the moment you succeeded at something come to mind? 

• Actively remembering what happened the day before and searching for where you saw God can reorient your thoughts. Now when something unpleasant comes to mind, you’ll easily have something better to replace that thought with.

Journal to Find Comfort and Reassurance

• On days where you feel completely alone or like your prayers have gone unanswered, you can flip back through your journal and be reminded and reassured that God has been with you the whole time.

• The more you get in the practice of looking for everyday moments that God has touched your life, the easier it will be to find Him in hard times. So maybe you don’t get the job you dreamed of, or everything in your day seems to fail you. Those are the times you need your God-centered journal the most!

Joshua 1:9 (ESV) Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Journal to Form a Friendship with God

• By getting in the practice of searching for daily moments with God, you’ll gain an everlasting friendship with Him. And there is no better friend than Jesus. 
• You will find yourself confiding in Him more, celebrating with Him more, and seeking His guidance more often. 

Journal to Find Insight and Purpose in your Life

• Another benefit of starting a faith journal is that in time you’ll discover that the seemingly random moments in your life actually fit together beautifully for a reason. For His purpose.

• You’ll see God has shaped you and the world around you for a purpose so amazing only He could accomplish it with you. And when you step into your purpose, you will experience a joy you never felt before. 

Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV): For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Journal to Gain Trust in God

• By writing down a daily moment where you saw God, you’ll end up with a lifetime collection of all the ways God was there for you. 
• You’ll learn to trust Him because you know the times he has already been there for you. 
• You will learn that He is and always has been with you. 
• You’ll start to see how He is preparing you for good and wonderful things. You’ll see how even your disappointments served a purpose, so you’ll trust Him in good times and bad. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Have I convinced you to start your own faith journal yet? If so, follow these three easy steps to find more peace, joy, and love in your day.

How to Start a Faith Journal

1. Grab a blank notebook and a pen or pencil of your choice.
2. Record one moment from the day before where you saw God in your day. Start easy-maybe it is something beautiful you saw in nature or something kind someone did for you. As time goes by, you’ll find it easier and easier to spot moments God is sharing with you.
3. That’s it! Keep it simple, and you’ll end up with a permanent reminder of all the ways God has touched your life.

Once you start seeing how God is at work in your day, you will find more peace, more comfort, more hope, and more joy than you have ever known. 

Romans 15:13 (NIV) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

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