Writing to the glory of God

I have been reminded multiple times of late of the importance of writing. I have been encouraged during my time here in Israel to keep a journal. I want to because I have seen how beneficial it was in my past semesters here. I greatly enjoyed reading through those journals over the summer and remembering God's faithfulness to me during those semesters and remembering lessons I learned. It was also neat to see how God has changed me.
I was also reminded of the importance of writing as I listened to John Piper's sermon on David Brainerd in the "Men of Whom the World was not Worthy" series. David Brainerd was very sick and yet he was faithful to write relentlessly. His journals are on my list to read and have impacted many major theologians. His journals also speak of his writing day and night over and over again. John Piper encouraged the pastors to whom he was speaking to write more. He talked about the benefit of clarifying and organizing thoughts by writing. I've seen that benefit in this blog.

I see the following as some of the benefits of writing:
1. Writing my thoughts helps me see how wrong and sinful they are. Seeing it exposed on the page makes me recognize it and hate it all the more.

2. If we have recorded our thoughts on a certain subject, as we clarify our thoughts throughout life we can see how we have changed.

3. I also learned the importance of keeping a journal for contentment's sake and for trusting God in the midst of difficulties. My friend's mom taught me that it is good to journal and record those things and then record how God worked in the midst of them or delivered you out of them. She then uses that to look back on in the midst of later difficulties and remember the unchanging character of the God she serves and trusts in the midst of her present circumstances. She feels that this practice helps her see how light and momentary her trials are. This really helps to expose our foolish disbelief too and it helps us remember when we so quickly forget what God has done in the past.

4. Writing can also be a beneficial form of communication. I have been very thankful for written communication while in Israel. Writing someone a note is an excellent way to love and serve others around you or miles away.


I have not had a lot of time to write and I have not been posting much but I want to pursue it more.