Jesus Calling, Enjoying Peace in His Presence--Book Review

I'm very excited to finally be reviewing my first book. After all, this was actually the whole reason I began a blog. I just had no idea the LORD was allowing me to find something that would offer an outlet that gave me time to draw closer to Him in writing.

I received a special book recently called Jesus Calling. Sarah Young, a missionary, wrote this devotional book. Upon first glance, I was a bit taken by surprise. Before reading the introduction, I briefly read one entry and noticed this is no typical daily devotional. The entries are written in the first person point of view from the Lord. For example, part of January 14th's entry says "Let Me Bless You with My grace and peace. Open your heart and mind to receive all that I have for you..." The entries are actually written as though this is the Lord speaking to you. After noticing this, I knew the Introduction would have to explain this different approach. Sarah Young explains her journey to learning to be a "listener" to the Word. Not only did she want to read the Word, but she wanted to enjoy His presence and listen to what He was saying to her in those words. So she began journaling differently, no longer just telling the LORD her thoughts, but waiting and meditating on what His thoughts were to her based on what He said in Scripture. Her journaling changed from "monologue to dialogue." This type of journaling led to Jesus Calling.



Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence is segmented by months, having an entry for every day each month. There are just a couple of paragraphs of the LORD's thoughts toward us and then Scriptures are included for reference. Throughout the devotional entries there are phrases in italics which are quotes from Scripture so the Word is very evident throughout. It's a small devotional book that could be given as a gift or kept handy for an every day word of encouragement.



I enjoyed reading through the devotional, but even more than that it has prompted me to journal in a similar way in my own Bible time. I want to be a better "listener" to Him as well.