Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence
By Sarah Young
A Review by Dwight A. Moody
A few weeks ago, I reported in TheMeetingHouse newsletter that this book of devotions, first published in 2004, has now sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, has been translated into many languages, and has spawned a brand that includes other books, movies, podcasts, and merchandise of all sorts.
This news caught my attention; and I decided to read the book and make my own judgment about its success. What is it that people find in this book that has made it so popular?
I ordered from Amazon at a cost of ten dollars and change; it arrived in two days, and I started reading. Author Sarah Young designed the book to be read a page a day, slowly, sitting alone, with a Bible in hand. Which is why she organized her message into 365 readings, from January 1 to December 31 (a popular format for devotional readings).
I read the book in a week, blowing up much of its intended impact. But even as I read, I could see how mulling over these daily messages every day, day after day, might produce a more pronounced effect than what happened as I read the devotions.
But I contend that my reading is justified, even needed for no other reason than that it is consistent with my own personality, my own way of being in the world. “Let’s get this done” is my way of approaching any task. But it is clear that such task-focused energy does not sit well with Ms. Young. Such attitude and action comes in for constant criticism in this book; it is equated with busyness, hurriedness, worldliness, self-empowerment, and most of all, anxiety-producing activity.
The antidote is to stop. rest. read. pray. contemplate.
This is an old and honored perspective on the spiritual life. Many writers of such books describe this set of practices as the essential strategy of holiness, of sanctification, of progress in the spiritual life, of being like Christ. Not many, however, can describe it with as much consistency as has Young.
Perhaps no better summary of her message is found than October 13; “Take time to be still in My Presence…. Breathe slowly and deeply. Relax in My holy Presence while My Face shines upon you. This is how you receive My Peace, which I always proffer to you.”
Here is the primary vocabulary of true spirituality, according to Young. “Presence” is a word used on every single page, every single devotion (with very rare exception). We are to be aware of God’s presence (and often she means Jesus), and we are to cultivate that awareness, beginning with the time of devotion at the beginning of the day and continuing throughout the day, using every spare moment to call upon the Presence, to invoke the Presence, to celebrate the Presence.
This is not a bad thing; and one of the very good things to come out of this strategy is to be present at all times, to live in the present, aware of our surroundings and attentive to our environment. This coheres with much that comes from more secular types of contemplative strategies.
I found this emphasis good and useful, as I did Young’s persistent emphasis on staying calm, and steady, and confident, regardless of what surprises interrupt our day. Invoking the presence of God and trusting in the moment-by-moment provisions of God is a wonderful way to live day by day.
There is a catch to it, however. In Young’s description of this experience of peace, there is a powerful role played by the sovereignty of God. We can rest in God’s presence, she says over and over, because He (and yes, she continually uses the masculine pronoun) not only knows what is about to happen, He actually planned everything that happens. This is typical language: “I have carefully mapped out every inch of your journey through this day….” (somewhere!) and “I orchestrate the events of your life …” (September 1) and “I have arranged the events you will encounter as you go along your way” (October 29).
This assertion of God’s construction of every facet of my day does not surprise me, given that she describes herself as “Reformed” in doctrine, a graduate of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, and active in the Presbyterian Church of America (PCA). Her description of the Bible as the “infallible, inerrant word of God” also positions her at a certain place on the wide spectrum of Christian faith and practice.
But her description of the Bible in this way does not necessarily tell us how she uses the Bible. What we know is this: it is not how we describe the Bible that matters but now we use the Bible. And I was, therefore, especially interested in how she uses our Holy Scripture.
Young quotes the Bible through the book, of course, and paraphrases much of what she references. At the bottom of each day’s devotion (generally 100 to 200 words, although the shortest is a mere 83!) are the biblical references she uses in that day’s devotion. They number 2,019, with most attention given to Psalms, the Gospels, and the writings of Paul the Apostle (66% of the total references even though they constitute less than a quarter of the Bible material). What she conspicuously ignores is the history recounted in the Bible (which constitutes 35% of the Bible but only 4% of her usage). Glaringly and surprisingly, of more than two thousand biblical references, only seven are from The Acts of the Apostles.
This inattention to the acts of God (and God’s people) fits into the overall philosophy of the book: attitudes are more important than acts, clearly. The best part of the day is sitting still and thinking, praying, listening, contemplating. The rest of the day is disruptive, hurried, cluttered, oppressive, distractive. Being trumps doing, so to speak. Her preference for the Gospel of John (94 references) over the Gospel of Mark (a mere three references) points in this direction; as does her use of Matthew 28:18-20, which she invokes five times to emphasize the presence and power of God while never once drawing attention to our mission to make, baptize, and teach disciples.
As popular as this book is, it remains only half the story of the presence, peace, and power of God; for I am one of many who testify that God is encountered as often as not as we do the work of the gospel: baptizing the convert, hearing the skeptic, teaching the believer, feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, and visiting the prisoner (the latter taken from a text which she never notices—Matthew 25:31ff)).
But millions of people have, evidently, derived blessing from reading her book, and far be it from me to dissuade others. But enough of this—I have stuff to do today, including writing a book that scores of people will buy and maybe a few will even read!
(June 2022)
