Create a Truth Journal to Find Hope in Crisis

“This is almost certainly metastasized cancer,” our GP told my husband Clay. “We’re not talking cure here. We’re talking quality of life and length of life.” The words sliced like a knife through my chest.

A week later, an oncologist confirmed stage 4 cancer.

We responded the way we’ve learned through the years: first, by praying, giving thanks out loud to God, and asking God for help; and second, by each creating a Truth Journal.

What a Truth Journal Is

What we call a Truth Journal consists of four things: truths, remembrances, Scriptures, and prayers. Clay keeps his in a Word document and has a separate page for each. He changes the font color of anything related to eternity to purple, the color of royalty. Whenever he updates it, he prints a new copy.

I have a tab in the back of my daily planner labeled “TRUTHS.” This section has pages with these titles:

• TRUTHS
• REMEMBRANCES
• SCRIPTURE
• PRAYERS

The titles are in green ink because in my Bible, I underline God’s blessings in green. I placed a gold flower sticker next to the titles because gold reminds me that Jesus is King and sovereign, and flowers remind me of Jesus’s words, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

When we wake up sad or hear something that shakes us, we get out our truth journals and read through them. Sometimes item 3 will be just what we need. Other times it’s item 12. It’s important to regularly add to the journal and to keep it handy.

Previously I wrote about using a Truth Journal to combat doubts (“Does God love me?”) and false beliefs (“God let _____ happen so he must not care about me”). I’ll provide a link to that at the end of this post. Here, I’ll explain how to use a Truth Journal to find hope in time of crisis, such as a health crisis or loss of a loved one.

Let’s begin by looking at the four parts of a Truth Journal.

Truth Journal Section 1: Truths

These are personalized statements based on Scripture. When I previously wrote about Truth Journals, I suggested co-mingling truth statements and Scriptures. But Clay’s Scripture list was long and he ended up adding page breaks before and after it. After I made a mistake copying a longer passage, I decided to redo my Truths page and attach his list onto a separate Scripture page.

In my Bible I underline what we should do in blue, so I list truth statements in blue to remind me I must act on these truths.

Here’s a sample of what’s in our lists.

Clay’s List

• The Lord is all-powerful, and He loves us.
• Unless we die suddenly, everyone is going to have to go through this (“but such as is common to man,” 1 Corinthians 10:13).
• We know that the Lord intends for us to suffer and that He expects us to handle it well.
• Hardship is necessary for our spiritual growth and is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory.
• The Lord is helping us not love this present world.
• We don’t know the future—I could be healed—maybe forever—who knows what drugs will come up?
• The Lord has brought us medical professionals to help us.
• The Lord will take care of both of us no matter what.
• The Lord will provide for Jean E., no matter what.
• He is disciplining us not to look to the wind but to look at Jesus.
• This is an opportunity for us to glorify the Lord.
• No matter what happens, we will enjoy each other for eternity.

Jean’s List

Most of Clay’s are also in mine. Here are a few extras.

• Everyone has to face suffering, death, and dying. Jesus shows us how to face it.
• God has always worked good from the hard things that have happened. He won’t stop now.
• The Lord worked great good out of Clay’s first bout with bone cancer.
• We know people who have survived metastasized cancer for years.

As we realize more truths, we add to our lists.

Truth Journal Section 2: Remembrances

In my February newsletter, I wrote about how last summer, I was praying while walking when I saw a strange sight: a crow with white feathers in his wings. I snapped a few photos of him hopping among pine branches and headed home to get Clay. The pics were too fuzzy to see the white feathers, and the bird was gone by the time we got down to where I’d seen it. Clay teased that I must be making it up. (He didn’t mean it.)

The next day as I headed out for my walk, I asked God to show me the crow again so I could call Clay and have him join me. But I didn’t see him during the one-mile walk. I came in through the back door and was telling Clay how I’d prayed to see the crow so he could see it, when I glanced out the window. There the bird was, perched on our fence! He stayed long enough for us to get good photos, then flew into the grapevine, giving us a chance to record him flying. When he flies, his white wingtips sparkle. I named him Wingtip.

What an amazing answer that was better than what I asked for! Instead of me finding Wingtip and calling Clay to quickly come see, God brought Wingtip to Clay.

Scripture tells us it’s essential to remember answered prayers like this.

So I have a section called REMEMBRANCES in which I’ve written these two verses:

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

Psalm 143:5

My mouth will tell of your righteous acts, of your deeds of salvation all the day, for their number is past my knowledge.

Psalm 71:15

I have a two-column list of blessings God’s given us and prayers he’s answered in providential ways. I listed as many wonderful things God has done for us as I can remember as well as the ways God brought good out of past sufferings. That raises my confidence that God will work similarly in this circumstance. While I list just a word or phrase that reminds me of what God has done, Clay writes mostly sentences and uses one column. He entitles his Remembrances section “Remember how God has done amazing things for us—Thank You, Father!”

For both of us, “Wingtip” resides near the top of our remembrances. It assures us that even though God has said no to some of our prayers about Clay recently, he has good reason for it. He will give an answer that I expect to be better than what I asked for.

Truth Journal Section 3: Scripture

Both of us started writing beneficial Scriptures when we were young Christians in high school. This habit has greatly helped our spiritual growth. Prior to this week, I mingled verses with truth statements. But as I mentioned, I messed up a verse I was copying and decided to print Clay’s list and attach it to a separate page in my journal with washi tape (tape that can be lifted and reapplied). In an upcoming blog, I plan to list these comforting verses.

Our Scripture lists go on for pages. Here are a few favorites for finding hope in crises.

Favorite Verses for Truth Journals

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.

John 16:33

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3–5

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18

The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Revelation 3:21-22

A Note on Conquering

Clay emphasizes the word conquer (Greek nike) in the Revelation passages because it’s what we need to do when we suffer. Nike in other versions is also translated “overcome” or “victorious” and is where Nike tennis shoes gets its name. We need to keep the faith by honoring God through every hardship, disease, persecution, and even to our own deaths. When we do that, we conquer and we will inherit the kingdom.  

Truth Journal Section 4: Prayers

The first time Clay had cancer 19 years ago, I made the mistake of praying over every possible future I could think of. I thought praying over each to the point of peace would fill me with lasting peace. But it didn’t. Instead, I’d pray to the point of peace about one possible future only to have another possibility disrupt my peace.

My prayer section is labeled “PRAYERS” and begins with Philippians 4:4-7 broken into lines that I can pray. We’ve both memorized it so we can pray it aloud often. One of us will recite part of the verse and then both of us will pray according to what it says.

Philippians 4:4–7

Here’s an example of how we might pray, with the Scripture in bold and our prayers in italics:

• Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
  • Lord, we rejoice that this is the path you’ve set before us. We rejoice that the brain MRI showed no cancer. We rejoice in how you sent Wingtip to encourage us in how you answer prayers in better ways than we even ask. We rejoice [here we go through as many things from the Remembrances section as we can remember].
• Let your forbearance be known to all.
  • Father, help us to forbear in this situation and to show others the forbearance you give us.
• The Lord is at hand.
  • Lord Jesus, thank you that you are at hand, that you are right here with us now.
• Do not be anxious about anything.
  • Father, forgive me for being anxious about the results taking so long. Help me not to be anxious, for you have this in your hand.
• But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
  • Lord, help the lab to correctly identify the molecular profile, and let it be one that is more easily treatable.
• And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 71

Psalm 71’s theme is continual hope and it’s my favorite prayer for building hope. I plan to add a prayer based on Psalm 71 once we have the oncologist’s prognosis.

Prayer Requests and Answers

We both have a spot for prayer requests and answers. Clay entitles his “Recent Opportunities to Trust God.” I have mine on a separate page with two columns labeled “Prayer Requests” and “Answers.”

Conclusion

If you’re going through a crisis, try creating a Truth Journal and reading it often. Arrange it any way that works best for you, just as Clay and I have. It’ll calm fears and help you face crises with hope.

Downloadable Truth Journal

The Joy Super Bonus Bundle has a downloadable Truth journal that you can print.

Related Posts

•  Fight Fear with Truth: This explains how to create a Truth Journal for combatting doubts and false beliefs.

Books You Might Like

• Discovering Hope in the Psalms teaches how to pray 10 psalms of hope; Jean E. Jones, Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher
• Discovering Joy in Philippians features joy builders that help you rejoice even in crisis; Jean E. Jones, Pam Farrel, Karla Dornacher
• Why Does God Allow Evil?; Clay Jones
• Tattered and Mended: The Art of Healing the Wounded Soul; Cynthia Ruchti