Journalling- Testing Your Thoughts

In the previous article I talked about using the process of Journalling to develop our ability to listen to the Holy Spirit.

It is important to test every thought and revelation against Scripture so that we understand whether we are just making stuff up or whether we really are hearing the Holy Spirit. When we come to Jesus and give our lives to Him, we receive the Holy Spirit inside us. We all have the capability to hear God. We also have the ability to deceive ourselves into believing that our own ideas are words from the Lord.

The answer to this conundrum is to test every revelation against God’s word. In 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Paul tells us:

Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.

The only true measure of what is consistent with God’s purpose is the Bible. Sometimes this is not a big issue. One time I felt that God was telling me to tell someone “God loves you.” This is a very simple thing to do, and is so obviously in agreement with the Bible that it takes no effort at all to believe it is from God.

Conversely, if you are communing with God and you feel that He is saying to leave your spouse or start a sexual relationship with someone, this is so obviously contrary to Scripture that we can instantly dismiss it as coming from anywhere but God.

Sometimes, though, it isn’t that clear cut. We need to ask questions such as this:

• What does the Bible teach about this?

• Is this something Jesus would say, or the apostle Paul?

• In what way is God being glorified through this?

This is what the Bible means by testing prophecy. We get our thoughts ordered and written down so we can see them clearly, and then we ask, “Is this really from God?”

Having done that, we can lay it all before the Lord again in prayer, asking Him to direct our thoughts and show us more of His love. In this sense, journalling is a circular process. We start with praying and listening, and end up in the same posture before the Lord.

The good news is that even when we get it wrong or make mistakes, the process leads us back to listening to the Holy Spirit and reading the Bible, which is never a bad thing.