Jesus
Calling, Enjoying Peace in His Presence, by Sarah Young, (Nashville: Thomas
Nelson, 2004), 382 pp., hard $15.99
Jesus Calling and its many sequels and other products such
as Dear Jesus, Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, Jesus Lives, Jesus Calling (Devotional for Children), Jesus Today, Jesus
Calling for Teens, and Jesus
Calling (Bible Storybook), are among the bestselling books in the
world today. Young is offering people something they want to hear which is that
they can experience the very presence of Jesus and Jesus will speak to them
personally. The subtitle of the book is well chosen, for in this daily
devotional the word “Presence” [of God or Jesus] is found over 400 times and
the word “Peace” approximately 155 times, with synonyms such as rest and joy
common place. Noteworthy is that both words are always capitalized signifying
that apparently Young views Presence and Peace as God Himself, or at least
representative of God.
As one might imagine, the devotionals are highly
redundant. If you read any ten, in essence you have read all that Young has to
say. It does not take much analysis to realize that Young is a woman who
struggles deeply with fear and anxiety. The vast majority of the supposed
revelations from Jesus are words given to comfort her. Repeatedly Jesus has to
promise her that He will never leave or forsake her (examples: pp. 24, 32, 73,
80, 103, 146, 156, 218, 224, 237, 265, 342). Jesus often invites Young to “rest
snugly in My everlasting arms” (pp. 235, 373, 377), “Gaze into My eyes” (p.
270), “Rest in My loving gaze” (p. 299), and He informs her that He loves “to
enfold you in My arms” (p. 303). As I read the book, with these constant
references to Young’s obvious need for peace, rest, comfort, security, hope and
assurance, I could not help but feel for her. This is an anxious woman seeking
comfort and, on the basis of her popularity, she is not alone. Sadly she is
wrapping her life around her problems rather than Christ, despite her constant
references to Jesus. The emphasis is on what Jesus can do for her rather than
the glory of Christ Himself. And of course this is the draw of Jesus Calling.
But there are far deeper concerns than this.
The real problem is Young’s premise that Jesus is speaking constantly to her
and that we can have the same experience if we will follow her methods. In the
introduction Young makes clear both her journey to and her understanding of her
supposed direct communication from Jesus. As a young woman seeking to
understand God, she had her first experience of the presence of God. It was “as
if a warm mist enveloped me. I became aware of a lovely Presence, and my
involuntary response was to whisper ‘Sweet Jesus’” (p. vii). The following year
she claims to have had another encounter with the Presence of God but then she
went for 16 years before she had any more experiences (pp. viii – ix). In
between she had received her master’s degree from Covenant Theological Seminary
(a conservative Reformed school in St. Louis) and served eight years with her
husband as missionaries in Japan. In addition she earned a degree in counseling
from Georgia State University.
Then she read Andrew Murray’s book Secret of the Abiding Presence and began to seek God’s
presence for herself. It was a difficult time for Young with ministry changes
(they moved to Australia), cancer, four surgeries and intense pressures. One
morning she “visualized God protecting each of us…which looked like a golden
light. When I prayed for myself, I was suddenly enveloped in brilliant light
and profound peace. I lost all sense of time as I experienced God’s Presence in
this powerful way” (pp. x – xi).
After another similar experience she began
reading God’s Calling, a devotional book
written by two anonymous “listeners,” “these women practiced waiting quietly in
God’s presence, pencils and paper in hand, recording the messages they received
from Him” (p. xi). Duplicating the methods of these authors Young moved from
merely writing her thoughts in a journal (what she called one-way communication
with God) to “listen[ing] to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever I
believed He was saying” (p. xii). Young from that point on has seen her
journaling as a dialogue with God and soon she was receiving frequent messages
from God. Young says that she knows these messages are not as inspired as
Scripture (p. xii), which is both interesting and troubling because every true
communication from God is inspired, or “God-breathed.” God never communicates
in any other way, although not everything God has said has been written in the
Bible. Whatever caveat Young may offer, the bottom-line is that she is claiming
divine inspiration for her writings. She is claiming direct revelation from
Jesus, nothing less. Either she is receiving revelation, and is thus an
inspired author of divine truth, in which case we need to add her writings to
Scripture, or these supposed revelations are stemming from another source such
as her imagination, or are made up, in which case Young is a deliberate false
teacher. There is no room for a middle ground. Young’s message is that God
“still speaks to those who listen to Him” (p. xiii, see p. 317), therefore the
reason most do not hear His voice is they will not be still and quiet (as she
is) enough to listen (pp. 317, 352, 367 370, 378).
The idea that Jesus will speak to any who
will be quiet before Him, and that He does so continuously (p. 317), is the
great danger of Young’s teaching. But the draw is the promise of an
overwhelming felt experience of the presence of God. Jesus tells Young, “Let My
Love enfold you in the radiance of My Glory. Sit still in the Light of My
Presence and receive My Peace” (p. 26), and “Look into My Face and feel the
warmth of My Love-Light shining upon you” (p. 278) and “Sit quietly in My Presence,
allowing My Light to soak into you and drive out any darkness lodged within
you” (p. 294, cf. pp. 104, 259, 276, 284, 355). Sounds inviting – yet is it
biblical? Nowhere in Scripture do we find God promising such experiences. We
walk by faith, not by the felt presence of God. Even Young warns that
discernment is needed lest one be deceived by supposed voices and experiences
that may be from other sources (pp. 66, 102). But to Young, and those who
follow her, experience trumps Scripture. While acknowledging that the inner
voices she hears are not on a par with Scripture, nevertheless, “They were
helping me grow closer to God” (p. xii). “This practice of listening to God,”
she writes, “has increased my intimacy with Him more than any other spiritual
discipline, so I want to share some of the messages I have received” (p. xiii).
Obviously to Young Scripture is insufficient; new revelation is needed and that
is why she has written Jesus Calling.
All this is not to say that Young is not
often on the mark biblically. Given her theological training much of what she
writes is sound. And she uses Scripture, although it is often paraphrased to
the point of changing its meaning or using it out of context (e.g. pp xiv, 15,
21, 45, 78, 91, 134, 177). Young’s emphasis is not explaining the Word of God
but adding her supposed revelations to the Word of God. Jesus Calling and its entire offspring are among the
most dangerous writings in the evangelical community today.
Reviewed by Gary E. Gilley, Pastor, Southern
View Chapel.
