spiritual disciplines book quote 11

From Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, by Donald Whitney, on journaling...

A more God-centered theologian never lived than John Calvin, yet even he wrote on the first page of his monumental Institutes: "Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God." Through the knowledge of ourselves and our condition, he explained, we are aroused to seek God. A journal can be the means by which the Holy Spirit shows us areas of sin or weakness, the emptiness of a path we have chosen, insight into our motives, or other things that can transform the journal page into an altar of seeking God (p. 207).

By slowing us down and prompting us to think more deeply about God, journaling helps us feel more deeply (and biblically) about God. It provides an opportunity for the intangible grays of mindwork and heartwork to distill clearly into black and white. Then we're better able to talk to God with both mind and spirit (p. 210-211).

The flesh, our natural inclination toward sin, does not contribute to our spiritual growth. Unless we labor to put to death the misdeeds of the body (Romans 8:13), our progress in Godliness will be very slow. Unless we find practical ways to cooperate with the Holy Spirit against our congenital tendency toward spiritual sloth, we will not build ourselves up in the faith (Jude 20); we will drift toward spiritual entropy instead (p. 216).