Journaling the Journey: Part I

   I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart and watch to see what He will say to me. Habakkuk 2:1

    Shortly after my salvation experience being born-again and transformed into a new creation a friend gave me a bible and invited me to the local Baptist church where I met a pastor who would teach me how to hear God.

    Coming out of a drug addicted stupor and a long bout with alcoholism my mind was beginning to clear up and my ears were open to hear the voice of God! Pastor Jesse McElreath became my mentor to lead me into a life-long relationship with the "Trinity" by introducing me to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

    Having absolutely no knowledge of God or religious training I was a willing candidate for not only knowing Him but building a relationship with the Creator of the universe! There is no greater ambition than to aspire to know God.

    But his delight is in the word of the Lord, and in His word he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:2,3

BE STILL AND KNOW

    Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10

    Be still and quiet in order to listen to the still small voice of God! As my late brother used to say, "You are not learning if you are talking!" First of all, establish a time every day, preferably in the morning before the hustle and bustle of the day drown out the voice of Holy Spirit.

    A good habit is to begin with a psalm and a proverb, there are thirty-one proverbs, one for every day of the month so take your time and pray before you begin. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise and if you are convicted of sin, confess it and repent. Once you have peace, begin to read and meditate on the scripture.

    To meditate is to chew on the word like chewing on a prime cut of beef until you receive all the flavor. That is why reading the word is likened to eating or being fed. He leads us into green pastures and still waters. Once you have made a habit of reading and meditating you can begin to develop a dialog with God.

    God said to Elijah who was hiding from Jezebel's men who were seeking his life, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord." And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice." I Kings 19:11,12

WRITE THE VISION

    Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. Habakkuk 2:1

    To write down the answer to your prayers or a word God gives you will serve you in the years to come seeing that God has been with you. Many times, we pray, God answers and we forget it, but when we journal it, we have it available to remember God's grace and mercy that He gave us.

    For over forty-three years I have journaled the journey with Jesus writing down all that He was doing in my life, through the good times and bad, in sickness and in health! Sounds like a marriage and it is because we are the Bride of Christ! There have been many times when I would look back through my journal to be encouraged when I was needing His healing or a miracle of His grace.

    I felt as though the Lord wanted me to make the next Devotionals about what I wrote in my journal from 2012 on to encourage you and exhort you to begin your own journal if you haven't already. To journal your journey with Jesus will open for you the joy of Heaven and strengthen your prayer life and I look forward to share mine with you! May God bless!

    For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie, though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:3

Your servant in Christ, Timothy Laughlin
   Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ