I treasure God’s Word because it is alive, active, and full of power—deeply penetrating the human heart and changing our very lives. The Bible contains God’s answers to every aspect of the human condition, telling us how much He loves us and helping us see how He longs to be involved in our lives.
After many years of writing in prayer journals—and then discovering the joy of listening to Jesus “with pen in hand”—I believe all of this more than ever today. As I shared in the introduction to my first book, Jesus Calling, I’ve gone through prolonged periods of difficulty, struggle, and waiting over the course of my life. And I have been battling Lyme disease, a debilitating illness, for nearly a decade. However, in the midst of it all, through God’s glorious grace, I have experienced something in my journey that outshines everything else: I have enjoyed the Presence and Peace of Jesus. I have known the comfort of living in awareness of His nearness.
What has made the difference? The practice of listening to Jesus and letting Him speak to me. This practice has done more to increase my intimacy with Him than any other spiritual discipline. And the words of assurance and instruction that He has “spoken” to me over the years are what I have shared in my devotional books.
Jesus—the Living Word—can speak to you directly through His Word, just as He has done for me. I hope the extrabiblical material in this Jesus Calling Devotional Bible, which includes more than 250 of my writings, will help attune the ears of your heart to His truths. To aid in this pursuit, each of my devotionals (which appear on right-hand pages at regular intervals throughout this Bible) was written from Jesus’ point of view—as if He were speaking directly to you. So the first person singular (I, Me, My) always refers to Christ, and “you” refers to you, the reader. I have also included Scripture references after each of the messages. I trust that you will take time to look up those passages in this Bible—and listen to whatever Jesus may be saying to you through His Spirit.
As I listen to God, I’ve found that Bible verses or fragments of verses often come to mind. I have woven some of them into my devotionals, where they are printed in italics. Certain Bible verses turn up again and again in my writing as well. That is because God often uses these powerful scriptures to strengthen and encourage me, raising my sights from my momentary troubles to His eternal perspective.
As you read this devotional Bible, I encourage you to keep a journal in which you can record any thoughts or impressions you receive—as Jesus calls to you. I am sure you will find, as I did, that God continues to invite us to lay down our cares, our problems, our sorrows—and seek His Presence. Scripture also assures us that God speaks to those who will listen and that He is always acting on our behalf. The Jesus Calling Devotional Bible reinforces these ideas in three ways: first, with call-outs from Scripture that reveal God’s never-ending interaction and involvement in the daily lives of His people; second, by including a variety of personalized, prayerful entries highlighting scenarios and questions that any of us may face in our journey with God; and third, by presenting Jesus’ possible “responses” to those situations in my corresponding devotionals.
Since my writings are rooted in the infallible, unchanging Word of God, having them appear alongside the biblical text would seem to be a natural place for them. It is an honor to have devotionals from two of my books, Jesus Calling and Jesus Lives, included in this volume. May my written words, along with those of the writers who contributed the personalized prayers, draw you closer to the Word, the One who is calling out to you even now: Jesus, Immanuel—God with us.
Sarah Young
April 2011