From Atheist to Believer

Introduction: What If God Is Real… and Still Wants You?

You might be reading this with a raised eyebrow or a guarded heart. Maybe you’ve lived your whole life rejecting religion. Maybe you were burned by the church, or saw too much hypocrisy to believe in a loving God. Or maybe, you just stopped caring—or never cared at all.

But lately, something feels different.
There’s a restlessness.
A whisper.
A question that won’t go away:

“What if I’m wrong about all of this?”
“What if there really is a God… and He hasn’t given up on me?”

This guide isn’t here to judge you. It’s not here to convert you with pressure or guilt. It’s here to offer you something simple and powerful:
A quiet place to wrestle with God on paper.

Bible journaling isn’t about being religious or having it all figured out. It’s about starting a conversation—one that may lead you from doubt to belief, and from shame to grace.

So if you’ve lived a life full of mistakes, addiction, lust, lies, anger, or disbelief…
If you feel like it’s too late or you’ve gone too far…
You’re exactly who this is for.

1. Doubting Is a Starting Point — Not a Dealbreaker

How God Meets Us in Skepticism, Not in Pretending

If you’ve ever said, “I don’t believe in God,” or “If there’s a God, why is the world so messed up?”—you’re not alone. You’re not the first person to ask those questions, and you won’t be the last. The truth is, the Bible is full of doubters, questioners, and people with messy pasts. And do you know what? God still pursued them.

Your doubt doesn’t disqualify you.
In fact, your doubt might be the doorway to real faith.

💭 God Doesn’t Need You to Pretend

You don’t have to fake it with God. He’s not impressed with religious performance. He’s interested in your honesty. And journaling is where that honesty can finally breathe.

📖 Mark 9:24
“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

That was the prayer of a desperate father whose son needed healing. And instead of scolding him, Jesus responded with compassion—and a miracle.

You don’t have to believe everything today. You just have to be willing to begin.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “God, If You’re Real…”

Start your entry with:

“God, if You’re real, I need You to show me…”

Then write what’s truly on your heart:

• Why you stopped believing (or never did)
• What’s hard for you to trust
• What life has taught you about pain, hypocrisy, and survival

You don’t need spiritual language. You need realness. Let your doubts out—God can handle every single one.

🧠 Faith Isn’t Blind—It’s Honest

Belief doesn’t require blind allegiance. It begins with the courage to say, “I don’t know if this is true, but I’m willing to look.” That’s what Bible journaling is: looking closer. Asking hard questions. Exploring Scripture not to be good—but to find truth.

📖 Jeremiah 29:13
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

This is an open invitation—not to religion, but to reality. To test it. To try. To ask, “Could it be true that God hasn’t written me off?”

📘 Journaling Exercise: “What I’ve Been Told About God”

Split your journal page in half:

• On the left: Write everything you’ve been told about God—good, bad, confusing, or hypocritical.
• On the right: Write how each of those things makes you feel.

Then write one honest question you wish you could ask God if He was listening. Spoiler: He is.

2. When You’ve Lived in Darkness

Why God Isn’t Afraid of Your Sinful Past

Maybe you’ve done things you regret—things you don’t talk about, even to people you trust. Maybe your past includes addiction, sexual sin, cheating, stealing, lying, manipulation, rage, or violence. Or maybe your whole life has just felt like one long drift away from anything good, clean, or sacred.

Here’s the shocking truth the church doesn’t always tell you:

God isn’t scared of your sin. He’s already seen it—and He hasn’t walked away.

🌑 Jesus Didn’t Come for the Good People

Contrary to what religion sometimes teaches, Jesus didn’t come for people who already had it all together. He came for the broken, the ashamed, the corrupt, and the spiritually confused.

📖 Luke 5:32
“I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

That means if you feel far from God… you’re exactly who He came for.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “Here’s What I’m Not Proud Of…”

Take a deep breath. Let your guard down.
On a blank page, begin with this:

“God, here’s what I’m not proud of…”

Write without censoring. Without justifying. Without trying to clean it up.
And then write this underneath:

“If You still want me after this, I’m listening.”

You’ll discover something holy: confession isn’t about condemnation—it’s about release. When you name it, God can begin to heal it.

🩹 God Already Knows—and Still Chooses You

It’s easy to think: “If people knew the real me, they’d walk away.”
But the Gospel says the opposite:

God does know the real you… and He came closer anyway.

📖 Romans 5:8
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

He didn’t wait for you to clean up. He made the first move. Journaling gives you a place to respond—not out of guilt, but out of curiosity:

“What kind of God still wants someone like me?”

📘 Journaling Exercise: “The Mask and the Mirror”

Draw two columns:

1. The Mask I Wear – List the ways you pretend, hide, or cope (e.g., humor, control, addiction, detachment).
2. The Real Me – Write what’s behind each mask (e.g., pain, fear, trauma, insecurity).

Then, at the bottom of the page, write:

“God, if You love the real me, teach me how to believe it.”

3. Beginning the Conversation

How Bible Journaling Can Be a Safe Way to Meet God

You don’t need to go to church to start talking to God. You don’t need to memorize Scripture, understand theology, or clean up your life first. All you need is a willingness to be real—and a quiet place to explore what might happen if God is more than just an idea.

Bible journaling gives you a private, pressure-free space to start that conversation.

🗣️ You Can Talk to God Like You Talk to Anyone Else

There’s no special voice or formula required. God doesn’t need you to sound holy—He needs you to be honest. Journaling lets you do just that, without the pressure of being watched, corrected, or judged.

📖 Psalm 62:8
“Pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”

This is your permission slip: pour it out.
Ask questions. Vent. Doubt. Cry. Whisper hope. It all belongs in the journal.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “God, I Don’t Know How to Do This…”

Start your next entry with:

“God, I don’t know how to talk to You, but here’s what’s on my mind…”

Let the pen move. Don’t edit yourself. Let your writing sound just like you talk. That’s how real connection begins.

Remember: journaling is prayer in ink.

📖 God Speaks Through His Word—and He Can Speak to You

When you pair journaling with Scripture, you create space for God to respond. Even if you’ve never opened a Bible before, start with the book of John or Psalms. Pick one short passage, read it slowly, and ask:

• What stands out to me?
• What might God be saying through this?
• How does this relate to my life right now?

📖 Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is alive and active…”

You don’t have to believe it all yet. Just open the door. Let the Word do the work.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “Speak, I’m Listening”

Each day this week:

Write a verse (start with John 3:16 or Psalm 23:1).

Underneath, write:

“God, what do You want me to see in this?”

Write your honest thoughts, doubts, or reactions.

Don’t force insight—just record the journey. This is how you begin to recognize God's voice: in the silence, the Scripture, and the stirrings of your soul.

4. Wrestling with Guilt and Shame

Why Grace Is Greater Than Your Past

As you start to reflect, you might notice a wave of something uncomfortable rising up—guilt over things you’ve done, and shame about who you think you are. These feelings can be overwhelming, especially if your past is full of things you regret or try to forget.

But here’s the truth: guilt and shame are not the end of your story. They are signals pointing you toward grace.

🧨 Shame Says “You’re Broken.” Grace Says “You’re Becoming.”

Shame is the voice that says:

“You’ll never change.”
“You’re disgusting.”
“God couldn’t love someone like you.”

But grace is the voice of Jesus saying:

“I know everything you’ve done—and I’m still here.”

📖 Romans 8:1
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Condemnation is the courtroom. Grace is the pardon.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “Here’s What I Can’t Forgive Myself For…”

Be brave. Be raw. Write it down:

“God, here’s what I can’t seem to forgive myself for…”

Let the page hold what your heart has buried. And then write:

“If You can forgive this… I want to believe it.”

You’re not expected to feel instantly clean. This is a process. But journaling makes it real. Tangible. Transformative.

🩹 God Doesn’t Rub It In—He Wipes It Away

Your past may explain you, but it doesn’t define you. God isn’t waiting to punish you—He’s waiting to restore you. And the only thing standing in the way… is your belief that you’re too far gone.

📖 Isaiah 1:18
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.”

Yes, even that thing.
Yes, even now.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “The Confession and the Cross”

Create two sections on your page:

1. What I Did – Write out what’s haunted you, even if it’s just a word or symbol.
2. What Jesus Did – Write: “Died to forgive this.”

Then draw a cross over the entire page. Whisper:

“God, help me believe this is covered.”

Repeat as often as needed. Grace is not a one-time truth—it’s a daily reality.

5. Taking the First Steps of Faith

How Small Acts of Belief Change Everything

You don’t have to understand everything to take a step toward God. Faith doesn’t start with certainty—it starts with curiosity. It grows through experience, honesty, and small, daily decisions to believe in something bigger than yourself.

If you’ve journaled your doubts, your sin, and your shame—what’s next? The answer might surprise you:

You try. You test. You trust—just a little.

That’s where faith is born.

🌱 Faith Isn’t a Leap—It’s a Lean

Most people don’t “find God” in one big emotional moment. They find Him slowly—in a series of questions, prayers, and quiet acts of trust. Faith is not jumping into the deep end. It’s leaning on God inch by inch until one day you realize—you’re being held.

📖 Hebrews 11:1
“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”

You don’t need to see it all. You just need to hope—and take a step.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “God, I Don’t Know Everything, But I’m Willing To…”

Begin your entry like this:

“God, I don’t know everything, but today I’m willing to…”
Examples:

• Try praying out loud
• Read one Bible verse
• Say “thank You” instead of “prove it”
• Choose not to numb myself tonight
• Ask You for peace instead of pretending I don’t care

These are seeds of belief. And in time, they bloom.

📖 God Honors Small Starts

God doesn’t demand spiritual perfection. He celebrates spiritual motion. Even a tiny step toward Him is met with His full attention.

📖 James 4:8
“Come near to God and he will come near to you.”

Even if you whisper “God, I want to believe,” it’s enough for Him to draw near.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “One Act of Faith”

Make a list of tiny steps you can take this week that signal your willingness to try:

• Light a candle and sit in silence for 5 minutes
• Read Psalm 23 aloud
• Journal before bed instead of scrolling
• Write a prayer that begins with “God, if You’re real…”

Check off one per day. Don’t aim to feel something—just aim to try something. Faith is grown in these small, sacred acts.

6. When You Still Have Doubts

Making Space for Questions Without Walking Away

Even after you’ve started journaling, prayed a little, and opened your heart to the idea of God… the doubts don’t just disappear.

“What if I’m just fooling myself?”
“What if this is emotional, not real?”
“What about all the evil in the world?”

These questions are valid—and they don’t make you a fake believer. They make you a real one. Doubt isn’t the enemy of faith. Dishonesty is. And the good news? You’re allowed to bring your questions to God—again and again.

💬 God Invites Questions, Not Just Praise

The Bible is full of people crying out, doubting, questioning, and even arguing with God:

• Job questioned God’s justice.
• David asked why God had abandoned him.
• Thomas refused to believe Jesus was alive until he saw Him with his own eyes.
• And God didn’t walk away from any of them.

📖 John 20:27
“Stop doubting and believe.”
That wasn’t a scolding—it was Jesus lovingly showing Thomas exactly what he needed to believe.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “Here’s What I Still Don’t Understand…”

Write a full page—no filter. Say what still bothers you, confuses you, or makes you hesitant to fully believe:

“God, I still don’t understand why…”
“I don’t get how You could…”
“I want to believe, but I can’t get past…”

Get it all out. Questions are not rebellion—they’re intimacy.

🤝 Faith and Doubt Can Coexist

Faith isn’t about pretending you have no doubts. It’s about trusting God in the middle of them. Your journal becomes a sacred space to wrestle without fear of rejection.

📖 Psalm 13:1
“How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?”

That’s not a heretic speaking—that’s King David, a man after God’s own heart. Your questions don’t offend God. They draw Him closer.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “The Questions I’m Carrying”

Create two sections:

1. My Questions – List out your current doubts or fears.
2. God’s Promises – Look up verses about His love, mercy, and faithfulness. (Start with Romans 8, Psalm 34, or John 1.)

Draw arrows connecting a promise to each question. You’re not answering the doubt—you’re anchoring it in something greater.

7. Inviting Jesus Into Your Life

What It Really Means to Believe

At some point in this journey—whether today or weeks from now—you may feel a shift. Something inside you whispers,

“Maybe this is real.”
“Maybe Jesus really is who He said He is.”
“Maybe I want this… even if I don’t fully understand it yet.”

That’s not just emotion. That’s awakening. And when that moment comes, you don’t need perfect words. You don’t need a theological background. You just need to say yes.

This is what it means to believe: not that you have all the answers, but that you’re ready to trust Jesus with your life.

✝️ Belief Is a Relationship, Not a Religion

Jesus didn’t come to start a religion—He came to restore a relationship. He doesn’t ask you to be perfect, holy, or churchy. He asks for your heart.

📖 Romans 10:9
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

This isn’t about saying the “right” prayer—it’s about surrendering to the idea that you need a Savior, and Jesus is it.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “Jesus, If You’re Real…”

Begin this sacred moment with:

“Jesus, if You’re real, and if You want me… here’s what I’m bringing You.”

Bring Him your past. Your habits. Your questions. Your fear. Your pain. Your attempts at control. Your disbelief.

Then write:

“I don’t fully understand this, but I want You in my life. Teach me to follow You. I’m ready to believe.”

If you write that and mean it—even a little—He hears it. And everything changes.

🕊️ This Is the Start of Something New

Jesus calls this moment being “born again.” It means your old self doesn’t get the last word. The real you—redeemed, forgiven, loved—is just beginning to rise.

📖 2 Corinthians 5:17
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

You may still wrestle. You may still stumble. But from here on, you don’t walk alone.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “My Yes to Jesus”

Write today’s date and these words:

“Today, I said yes to Jesus.”
Then write:

• What brought you to this point
• What you’re hopeful for
• What you’re still scared of
• A prayer asking Him to walk with you

This page is sacred. Keep coming back to it when you feel unsure. It marks your turning point.

8. Building a New Life

How Journaling Keeps You Rooted as You Grow

Saying “yes” to Jesus is a powerful beginning—but it’s only that: a beginning. Now comes the process of building a new life, one step, one habit, one journal entry at a time.

You’ll still face temptations. You’ll still have doubts. You’ll still trip up. But now, you’re no longer alone in any of it.
And journaling? It becomes your spiritual anchor. A record of your journey. A mirror for your soul. A conversation with God that never has to stop.

🧱 Growth Isn’t Instant—It’s Intentional

Following Jesus doesn’t make life perfect overnight. But it does give you a new foundation to stand on, a new identity to live from, and a new hope to cling to.

📖 Colossians 2:6–7
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him… rooted and built up in him.”

Journaling is how you “live in Him” when the world tries to pull you back into old patterns.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “God, Help Me Grow In…”

Each day or week, focus on one area of your new walk with God:

“God, help me grow in…”

• Patience
• Honesty
• Forgiveness
• Sexual purity
• Trust
• Prayer
• Scripture reading
• Friendship

Ask Him in writing. Then pay attention to what shifts over time.

🌱 Track the Fruit, Not Just the Fight

Some days you’ll feel like you’re failing. That’s normal. But the journal will remind you: God is still working in you.

Look for spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22–23):

• Love when you once felt hate
• Joy in places that used to feel numb
• Peace in storms
• Self-control in habits
• Gentleness where anger once lived

📖 Philippians 1:6
“He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion...”

Journaling allows you to see that good work over time.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “My Growth Timeline”

Create a two-column timeline:

1. Then: Write 5 things that defined your old life (e.g., anger, fear, partying, shame, emptiness).
2. Now: Write the beginnings of change you’ve seen—even if they’re small.

Add to this timeline every month. Watch how God builds something beautiful from the ruins.

9. Staying Close to God

What to Do When You Feel Distant Again

Even after saying yes to Jesus… life will hit hard.

You might feel emotionally numb one day. You might fall back into old habits. You might wonder if the whole thing was real, or just a passing phase. That’s not failure—it’s the human experience of faith.

The key isn’t never drifting.
The key is learning how to come back.

🌫️ God Hasn’t Moved—Even When You Feel Far

There will be days when God feels silent. But silence doesn’t mean absence. Just because you can’t feel God doesn’t mean He isn’t near.

📖 Deuteronomy 31:8
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

When the fire dies down, journaling helps you stoke the coals again.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “God, I Feel Far From You Because…”

Write freely:

“God, I feel distant because…”
“I haven’t talked to You in…”
“I slipped back into…”
“I’m ashamed to come back…”

Then add this:

“But I’m writing this now… because deep down, I want You again.”

That’s what closeness looks like. Not perfection—just persistence.

🛠️ Your Journal Is Your Compass Back to Connection

When your emotions are chaotic, your journal becomes a grounding place. When you don’t know what to pray, your pen becomes your voice.

Come back. Again and again. God’s not tired of you. He doesn’t hold grudges.

📖 Lamentations 3:22–23
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed… His mercies are new every morning.”

Yes, even this morning.

📘 Journaling Exercise: “My Return Map”

Make a simple 3-part page you can revisit whenever you drift:

1. What pulled me away? (e.g., stress, shame, temptation, apathy)
2. What do I need right now? (e.g., grace, strength, forgiveness, clarity)
3. What truth can I stand on today? (e.g., “God still wants me.”)

This becomes your map back to Him—every time.

10. From Atheist to Believer

Your New Identity and the Road Ahead

You’ve come a long way.

What began with doubt, shame, or a quiet ache for something more has turned into something sacred: a relationship with God. You may still be figuring things out, but one thing is certain:

You are not who you used to be.

You are not your addictions.
You are not your past.
You are not a mistake or a lost cause.
You are forgiven, chosen, and deeply loved.

🪞 You Are a New Creation—Even on the Days You Don’t Feel Like It

Faith isn’t about feelings. It’s about truth—truth that says your identity is no longer rooted in your old life.

📖 2 Corinthians 5:17
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Your journal now tells the story of your transformation—of God patiently rebuilding what the world tried to tear down.

🖊️ Journaling Prompt: “Who I Am Now…”

Fill a page beginning with this phrase:

“Because of Jesus, I am now…”

Include anything you’ve learned, felt, or claimed during this journey. Then write:

“Even when I don’t feel like it, I choose to live like this is true.”

This is how you renew your mind (Romans 12:2)—by returning to God’s truth again and again.

🛤️ This Is Just the Beginning

Your faith walk won’t be perfect. You’ll still battle doubt, fall short, and sometimes go silent. But now you know how to return.
Now you know how to journal through it.
Now you know Who is waiting for you.

📖 Philippians 3:13–14
“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…”

So press on.
One journal entry at a time.
One prayer at a time.
One new identity—yours—being lived out day by day.

🙏 Final Journaling Exercise: “My Faith Declaration”

Write this at the top of a new page:

“I once believed ___, but now I believe ___.”

Then write:

“Here’s what I want my life to look like going forward…”
“Here’s who I’m praying to become…”
“Here’s how I’ll stay close to Jesus…”

Keep this page as a testimony.
As a reminder.
As a letter to your future self.

And when doubt creeps in again, come back to it.

God never stopped pursuing you.
And now, you’re finally listening.
Welcome home.