Write your way through feeling to faith

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Numbers 35-36; Psalm 52

TO CHEW ON: "But I am like a green olive tree

in the house of God;

I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

I will praise You forever,

Because You have done it;

And in the presence of Your saints

I will wait on Your name for it is good." Psalm 52:8-9

When I journal, I often find myself using David's method of writing the psalms. He starts with troubled thoughts, spilling them all onto the page—the distress, the anger, the outrage, the desire for revenge. (When he wrote these, I wonder if he had any idea that thousands of years later people would still be reading and finding comfort and enlightenment.) Then he writes his way back through his feelings to faith in God.

Psalm 52 is such a cathartic entry. According to an epigram in my Bible, it is a "Contemplation of David when Doeg the Edomite went and told Saul and said to him, 'David has gone to the house of Ahimelech." The story, (found in 1 Samuel 21 and 22) is of the time David was running from King Saul. Saul, jealous of David's popularity and fearful that the people would want him to be their king, was trying to kill him.

David went from his hideout to the town of Nob to get food for his men from Ahimelech the priest. Doeg, a servant of Saul's, saw him and reported to Saul that Ahimelech had helped David. Saul summoned Ahimelech and his sons, scolded them for helping his enemy and ordered them all killed. Doeg did the deed. He even went so far as to  kill the families of Ahimelech and his sons.

Is it any wonder David cries, "God shall likewise destroy you (probably referring to Doeg) forever. He shall take you away and pluck you out of your dwelling place and uproot you from the land of the living"?

But his focus doesn't stay on the villain. Instead, he writes his way back to mental and spiritual tranquility as he expresses his trust in God. He reminds himself of his position as God's responsibility: "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God," and the attributes of the God he worships:  "I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever…. I will wait on Your name, for it is good" (vs. 8-9).

Are you troubled and distressed about something that's going on in your life? Try David's way of talking yourself down from whatever ledge you're on by writing about it. Any ordinary scribbler will do as a journal. As you diarize your path from feeling to faith, you may be writing your very own psalms. They may someday encourage someone else. Even if they don't, looking back on the experience of finding your way back to faith in God will buoy you up

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the writings of David that show me it's normal to experience the gamut of emotions and okay to express them. As I do this, please help me, by Your Spirit, to find my way to truth and trust. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 52

MORE: Spiritual Journals

If journaling, or the thought of keeping a spiritual journal is new to you, here are a few links to give you ideas of how to go about it:

"How to Develop a Spiritual Journal"

"Journal for You" (page contains links to more resources)

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Magnify God with your gratitude

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 69:19-36

TO CHEW ON: "But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:29-30

David continues on with his list of negatives.

(Several of them remind us of passages from the gospels and Acts, where the writers quote the very words of this psalm.

• Psalm 69:6 - John recalls this verse after witnessing Jesus' early cleansing of the temple in John 2:17.

• Psalm 69:21 - Jesus is offered gall and sour vinegar while on the cross in Matthew 27:34.

• Psalm 69:25 - Peter refers to this verse in relation to Judas when the apostles discuss finding about a replacement for him in Acts 1:16-20.)

Then notice how he changes course. At the junction of verses 29 and 30 it's as if he says to himself, Enough of this dwelling on the negative! And he begins to give God praise and thanksgiving.

He chooses to praise "with a song" getting his vocal cords involved.

He determines to "magnify Him with thanksgiving." I envision him peering at God and who He is through the magnifying lens of gratitude and appreciation. This makes Him bigger than the bad stuff that's happening to him; it magnifies Him.

Another meaning of magnify is to extol and exalt. We do that too as we direct our attention and fill our thoughts and our mouths with praise of God and thanksgiving to Him.

How can we do that practically?

You know all those blank notebooks people give as gifts? I've labelled the spine of one of them GRATITUDE. I write in it things for which I'm thankful. As I've persisted with this, guess what? A grateful, thankful attitude is becoming my habit!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being bigger than all my problems and for loading my life with good things. Help me to look away from my troubles to You and Your good gifts. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Write yourself out of a funk

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 31:1-24

TO CHEW ON: "Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart
All you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24

Do you notice how the writer's mood changes as we make our way through this psalm? David starts off in an emotional funk but ends in a much better place. Let's track his thoughts as he journeys from desperation to hope.

1. He cries for help (vs. 1-5):

From his bad place David cries to God "Deliver me...bow down Your ear...Deliver me speedily...Be my rock of refuge...Pull me out of the net...Into Your hand I commit my spirit."

2. He does some self-lecturing (even though, judging by what follows, his feelings aren't yet on-board) (vs. 6-8):

"I will be glad...You have considered my trouble...You have known my soul in adversities...(You) have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place."

3. He lays it all out (vs. 9-13):
David speaks his feelings and fears:  

"I am in trouble...I am a reproach...I am repulsive...I am forgotten...I am like a broken vessel...They scheme to take away my life." 

Thankfully he doesn't stay there!

4. He declares his faith in God (vs. 14-15a):

"But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;

I say 'You are my God'

My times are in Your hand..."

In other words, even considering the worst that people can do, David reminds himself that God, not his enemies, is ultimately in charge of his life.

5. He requests specific help (vs. 15b-18):
David puts into words exactly what he needs:

"Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me... Make Your face shine on me...Let the wicked be ashamed...Let the lying lips be put to silence."

6. Finally he offers praise to God, in faith that God has heard and will answer (vs.19-24):

"Oh how great is Your goodness...You shall hide them (those who fear You) in the secret place of Your presence...Blessed be the Lord...You heard the voice of my supplication when I cried out to You...Be of good courage ...All you who hope in the Lord."

My journal entries are sometimes a bit like this — a writing journey from trouble to trust. I find it helps to pour it all out on paper: the mixed-up feelings, the fears, the self-recrimination and revulsion. But it's important not to stay there but to move from a focus on self back to a focus on God.

If you're in trouble today, try writing your own version of Psalm 31. Just make sure you end up in the place David did — with your eyes on His face that shines on you.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for David's very real relationship with You, showing even his dark moments. I have them too. Help me to work my way out of them and back to You like he did. Amen.

MORE: Journaling resources

How to Keep a Spiritual Journal

Journaling: Being a Brave Soul (with more resources listed within the post and a link to more articles in Ann Voskamp's 2009 series about journaling).

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

God can handle your rant

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 7:1-17

TO CHEW ON: "Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart." Psalm 7:9,10

This psalm sounds like a bit of a rant. According to its title, David wrote it about a specific incident or person. He names "Cush a Benjamite." My Bible's notes suggest that it may  be connected with his flight from king Saul in the early days before he was king. Or perhaps David wrote it after Absalom tried to take over the throne when he fled the city and on his way out of town encountered Shimei, a Saul loyalist who cursed him roundly (2 Samuel 16:5-8).

In it he holds little back.

• He calls for help: "Save me... deliver me..."

• He tells God he didn't do anything to deserve this: "If I have done this: If there is iniquity in my hands, If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me..."

• He suggests God come to his aid: "Arise O Lord ... Lift Yourself up ... Rise up..."

• He even imagines details of his enemy's defeat: "He made a pit and dig it out and has fallen into the ditch which he made."

• And then he ends on a note of serenity: "I will praise the Lord..."

I doubt that when David wrote it he had any idea we would be poring over it thousands of years later, sometimes even clucking our tongues over some of its vindictive passages. He just, as they say about personal writing, opened a vein onto the page, or scroll.

Judging by how the psalm ends, the method worked. It settled him down. By drawing his attention away from his enemy and back to God he regained peace.

This psalm's honest tone invites us to be just as frank with God. Can we give ourselves permission to do what David did? Can we bare our souls to God no matter how we sound and in this way write the poison from our systems and draw our focus back on God who is bigger than any vexing person or problem?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the examples of honest writing in the Bible. Help me to use this means of working through my feelings to draw my attention from things that upset, frighten or perplex me, back to You. Amen.

MORE: Journaling

"Journaling is a time-tested and proven method of recording how God interacts with us in our everyday lives, as well as how we ourselves interact with Him. Journaling can be for the purpose of recording observations in Scripture, reflecting how God is dealing with us, or for recording our prayers. Regarding Scripture, journaling serves the useful purpose of assisting us in taking time to reflect and meditate on God's Word"  - From "The Journals of Jim Elliot"

For lots more information and tips about journaling and Bible study, explore Walk With the Word, especially the Journaling track.

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