I was recently looking around my house for a notebook to make some notes in preparation for an upcoming speaking engagement.

To my surprise, the one I chose had pages that were already filled with journal entries from 2013 at the height of our financial struggles. My husband Courtney was without a job and the expenses were piling up; the babies weren’t even a year old and Lindsay Cate was about to graduate from high school.  

This precious notebook not only had my thoughts, prayer requests, answered prayers, and favorite scriptures in it, but also Courtney’s! As I read through the pages, a few of my journal entries jumped off the page at me and reminded me of how faithful God is:

“Be overwhelmed! Sounds depressing right —but that’s the world’s viewpoint —everything becomes overwhelming. God says in Isaiah 61:10 to be overwhelmed with joy in the Lord God.”

God was helping me practice having joy in the storm, and oh, how my heart is filled with HIS unspeakable joy on a daily basis. Practice does make perfect!

“Our thoughts are what make us anxious. Not necessarily the actual crisis, but the potential of that crisis. Take my thoughts captive. Give it to the Lord.”

If I had known what lay ahead for us on our journey I certainly would have been tempted to be anxious and probably fearful. God’s sovereignty kept me grounded in his word.

“When circumstances don’t go my way, accept the situation immediately. Humble myself under God’s contro!.”

This was true three years ago and it’s true in my life today.

“Jesus is like a window—I must look through Him at every situation so I can see it the way He sees it.”

And under my entry was this golden nugget written by Courtney:  

“Just thinking about the different perspectives of where we are today. Our financial hardship might be the easiest of all our difficulties. What if it was one of our kids, or our health or any other difficulty. We must keep our eyes on God no matter what our situation.”

I am blessed and encouraged by the power of these words that Courtney and I wrote. And the funny thing is, I don’t remember writing them! God was at work in our lives and we captured it on paper, a confirmation of the importance of journaling (in my own handwriting) my journey as Scripture tells us to do:

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book.’    Jeremiah 30:2

Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and your children to the next generation.      Joel 1:3

See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand.      Galatians 6:11

Journaling serves as a legacy. I’m thankful for the reminder that nothing is out of God’s control, He is faithful and I am so glad that I’m journaling my journey.

Because He lives,

Rhonda

www.awalkwithgod.net

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