More From Irene E. Chomicki

I have never written a blog before, but The Upper Room Editorial Team encouraged me to write one.  Here it goes!  The story in my devotional, entitled, “Meeting with God,” took place around 1986, when I was in my twenties.  I am 62 now!  Reading this publication and others along with reading the Bible is a delight for me each morning.  I do still hunger and thirst to hear God’s voice, and God continually speaks to me through both the devotionals and his word every day.  I have made major decisions in my life by hearing God’s voice through the Bible and acting on it in obedience.  For my devotional, the Editorial Team changed the reading from Exodus 25:10-22, which I had selected, to 1 Corinthians 2:9-16. I love the reading that the they included because it talks about the Holy Spirit’s role in our relationship with God through Jesus.  Awesome! 

Even after 36 years of knowing Jesus as my Lord and Savior, my challenge has been and still is to meet with God throughout the day, and not just in the morning during my quiet time.  When problems arise during the day, I can easily turn to myself instead of God when I need help.  I am still growing spiritually and have not arrived.  I now own a business (if you use Facebook, please visit my business page), have been married for 26 years, and have two sons, ages 24 and 20.  Yet I have lots of opportunity to grow in the area of depending on God and meeting with God throughout the day.  I love the old hymns: “All to Jesus I Surrender” and “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”  When I sing them, they help me remember to surrender ALL (my marriage, my family, my business, my problems, etc.) to God and to depend on God rather than myself.  I believe that it will be a life-long area of growth for me! 

To finish my blog, I would like to tell you that at the beginning of each year, God gives me verses to read each day during the year to meditate on.  My 2020 verses were Galatians 5:1 (my yokes of slavery are fear, self-reliance/self-sufficiency, feeling overwhelmed, worry, perfectionism, religion, and time pressure) and Matthew 11:29-30 (I desire to take Christ’s yoke on me instead).  For 2021, I am still praying about what verses to read each day, but I am leaning towards Joshua 1:8-9 and Psalm 91 (yes, the whole Psalm!).  I want to turn to God as my refuge and not myself in the new year.  Reading God’s word each day, memorizing it, and praying (“Meeting with God”) really is a delight for me.  I hope it is for you too!  If not, I heard a preacher once say to discipline yourself to have a quiet time each day, and eventually, it will become a delight.  God bless you as you meet with God each day!