I am journaling through one of my favorite devotionals, Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest, using the “SOAP” format that I learned through an online group that I recently participated in at church. I decided this morning to share some of my journal entries on my blog. Since I am two papers away from graduating (!!!!!!!!!!!!), I will probably be writing a lot more on my blog. Writing papers was a spiritual activity for me that took up a good amount of my time. I will need to keep writing so until God places me in a church where I can write sermons and devotionals…..I guess you guys are my congregation!!

Oswald Entry- March 22
Scripture- “And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?”
Luke 24:31-32

Observation- Oswald says “It is the simple, dreary day with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart- unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.”

Application- Wow…..just wow. Man do I love this devotional. Oswald Chambers tells it like it is- no sugarcoating. It is so true. We all want the “mountaintop experience”. Yet sometimes (often if we are truly abiding in Jesus) in the middle of a dreary or hard or even unpleasant everyday experience- we see Jesus. Right in the middle of it. Just like the disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus. Their eyes were opened. Right in the middle of a seemingly ordinary thing like breaking bread…..

Prayer- Lord Jesus, please, please continue to help me to abide in You. Help me to see You in the middle of the ordinary. In the middle of the hard. In the middle of the unpleasant. In the middle of the boring. I want to abide in you always…..Amen.