What Immanuel Journaling has meant for me . . .

by an HCI Leader

Immanuel Journaling is a tool that is readily accessible, needs only a few minutes to complete, and has the potential to turn around one’s perspective from distress, offense, resentment, for instance, and to see things from God’s view, which is always powerful. 

One day recently I was staying with my daughter’s family, helping with her sons, ages three and one. I was feeling exhausted and unappreciated, so in a rare free moment, I engaged with God through Immanuel journaling, with this result.

Gratitude: So grateful for my grandsons, getting to know them through play, through our travels and adventures. My girl [daughter] works hard with them.  Thank you, Lord, for their health and personalities.

God’s Response: It is indeed a demanding household, and I am proud of you, just as you are proud of your girl. [I love how God saw between the lines and said exactly what I needed to hear.]

I see you . . . as you read through the emails, I see your wincing and wondering about your place and purpose on the   . . .  team.  I would like to remind you that the team belongs to me, not to any person. No one person is in charge of focus or trajectory. I am so glad you are coming to me now for another perspective. [Notice that the subject of this section has nothing to do with my gratitude. God knew what was bothering me and went right to the heart of the matter.]

I hear you . . .  I even hear the words before you form them or speak them. They go like this: “What about this? What about that? What about me?”I hear you.

I am so glad to be with you . . . in your sadness and your longing. I am here. I am not leaving. I am never disappointed with your questions or resentments. Come let us reason together. Join me in some alternate thinking.

I understand . . . the insecurity you feel. Oh, how I long to be your anchor, the one you hold onto, the one who holds you and whispers to you how very loved and welcome you are right now.

I can do something . . . about what you are experiencing. What would you like me to do? Think about that! Because together we can move mountains. I like that word “together.” Just imagine the possibilities! Come be with me, dear one. Let us think together, dream together, worship together. I love you.

Before my Immanuel time, I was frustrated, tensed up, resentful, stuck. Sometimes, I am very specific in expressing such feelings, but this time maybe I was just too ashamed to name them. Nevertheless, God spoke directly into the very issues at the root of my distress. Afterwards, I felt a pervasive calm, a physical calm from the top of my head down through my toes. The dust had settled in my mind, and for the next many days, I felt an assurance of being loved, being okay, in spite of my petulance and my desire for importance. I also felt a burst of hopeful energy as I re-engaged with my grandsons that afternoon. Immanuel Journaling certainly has multi-dimensional benefits—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. What’s more, when you turn around and read your story to another, it creates community and builds joy among you. I am so thankful for this easy, usable, attainable tool that has become fundamental to my connecting with Jesus.