Sarah Young Doesn’t Hear Jesus Calling

Christian books are a mainstay in believers’ lives. Personally, I love to read, and I think doctrinally solid Christian books can be valuable resources. They have their failings, too, though. Christians are getting lazy and picking up the next bestseller in the “faith” category rather than seeking out the Scriptures to answer questions about God, faith, divorce, self-esteem, life, and death… The list never ends. The problem is that anyone can slap “Christian” on their book, and Christian bookstores will happily put it on the shelves if it can make money. We eat it up! Seriously, how are Osteen and Spurgeon in the same store? Some authors end up hitting a nerve with readers and striking pay dirt. Case in point: Sarah Young and her Jesus Calling empire.

Pastors Have No Clue About Jesus Calling

I first heard of Jesus Calling around 2012/2013. I can’t remember why my husband and I were in front of our church, but it ended with the pastor handing me a copy of Sarah Young’s book. This pastor was an old school independent fundamental Baptist. The man literally mowed his lawn while wearing khakis and a collared shirt, you guys. So, I assumed, if anything, it would be a solid book.

As I read Jesus Calling, I felt more and more uncomfortable, but I was still a relatively young Christian and felt insecure about my concerns. I just stopped reading it. However, I never stopped thinking about it. Anytime I saw it at stores or in the hands of a friend I wondered, “Why are people buying this?” So, I finished it. Years went by, and I’m still bothered by it. Hence a blog post about Young’s book.

Why Talk About Jesus Calling Now?

Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence was published in 2004. That certainly doesn’t make this a current event kind of book. Yet, it absolutely is. According to the publishing firm Thomas Nelson, Young is releasing yet another in her series on October 5, 2021. This book is entitled, Jesus Listens: Daily Devotional Prayers of Peace, Joy, and Hope. As you can see, Young has put her books back in the forefront, and I’ve had enough.

Thomas Nelson actually refers to her books as a “brand line.” I’m not saying you can’t write Christian books and make money, but when a ministry becomes a machine chugging out weak content for profit, it’s time to reevaluate. What’s in this brand line? Let me tell you. She has released Jesus Calling, Jesus Always, Jesus Today, children’s devotionals, journals, seasonal books, inspirational desk calendars, and Bible storybooks. Not to mention there is a Jesus Calling podcast. The brand has an entire page in every Christian bookseller catalog. Don’t be fooled, though. Young gets that much space because it makes the bookseller money, not necessarily because it is biblically solid.

A Warning About Good Things In Jesus Calling

We’re about to dive into some of what is wrong with Jesus Calling, but we have to begin by acknowledging it is not all bad. Christians wouldn’t embrace it if didn’t have something true and familiar in it. Young accurately explains salvation through the grace of God, not by our works. She also warns against idols. Finally, she describes life on earth as preparation for eternal life with God rather than life here being the main focus of our existence.

I’m glad Young didn’t mislead readers about these fundamental tenets of the Christian faith. On the other hand, she mixes this correct information with enough negative outside influences and mishandling of Scripture that she’s dangerous. Readers don’t respond well to criticism about Jesus Calling because the book made them feel good, and they saw some things in it that were true. “How can that be bad?”

Let’s dig into this book a little deeper than our feelings and see what we come out with, OK?

Jesus Calling Is Written In The Voice Of Jesus

Jesus Calling is a year of devotionals written as if Jesus Christ is talking directly to you. If nothing else, this is irreverent and just plain icky feeling. It’s a lot presumptuous to speak as Jesus Christ. I think the worst-case scenario is readers will take her words in this book as His words. Ultimately, that’s her goal because that’s what she’s saying her devotionals are. (More on that later.)

If we are to believe that this is, in fact, Jesus speaking, then why does he sound like a middle-aged woman using vague and decidedly feminine language? Here’s an example from her December 13th devotional. “Emotional and physical healing are enhanced by your soaking in the Light of My Presence.” Does that sound at all like the Christ of the Bible? If that’s not enough to make you question how He speaks in Jesus Calling, just wait. There is more ahead.

Young Elevates Jesus Calling To The Level Of Scripture And Claims Divine Revelation

Young would never say she thinks her writings are the same as Scripture, and I believe her when she has said this very thing. On the other hand, she claims that Jesus has spoken directly to her with these messages. So, I must be a little slow because I need someone to explain to me how the literal words (as she claims them to be) of Jesus are not as significant as the Bible. Young does not seem to think they are.

You might be wondering how this all started for Young. Well, she says in the introduction to Jesus Calling that she understood God communicates with us through the Bible, but she wanted more. Young wanted to hear what God had to say to her personally. What we have here, ladies, is a woman who wasn’t satisfied with what God gave her and attempted to create a more emotional and experiential faith for herself. In the end, she created a faith for herself in which Jesus speaks to her directly with new information.

Honestly, it gets worse. Young has said her times of personal revelation have given her more intimacy with Christ than any other Christian discipline. Well, that sure sounds like she thinks her “listening” is more significant than prayer, fasting, Scripture, etc.

However, CARM pointed out something Young has done that refutes her own claims of these words being those of Jesus. She has done rewrites and corrections for updates to Jesus Calling. So, either those are not Jesus’ words, or Young thought she needed to edit our Lord and Savior.

Jesus Calling And Occult Roots

Not everyone knows how Young hears from Jesus and where she learned how because she has removed the information from her updated versions. Her main influence was a book that reached its height of popularity in the 1930’s called God Calling. Young enjoyed the book so much that she modeled her approach to “hearing” from Jesus on it.

In God Calling the two women who call themselves “listeners” would sit quietly with pencil and paper in hand…waiting. They sat, listened, and wrote what God told them to write. This approach is suspiciously similar to an occult practice called “automatic writing.” This is considered a psychic ability. Automatic writing consisted of writing without doing so consciously. It is generally understood as a supernatural occurrence.

Jesus Calling Doesn’t Align With Scripture

Young’s devotional focuses on positive, accepting, and reassuring messages. Jesus Calling is gentle and unchallenging. In contrast, Jesus, though kind and loving unlike anyone else, would call out sin and get angry, too. Here’s a personal favorite of mine.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”

Matthew 23:27-28

Let’s not forget that Christ taught on hell and sin’s consequences. He pointed to the Father and salvation. His messages were loving but hard and sometimes filled with forceful language. Jesus Calling, on the other hand, focuses much more on positivity and less on the kind of instruction Christ would likely offer given the examples we see in Scripture.

Here’s an example from the May 25th devotional. You’ll find Young records “Jesus” contradicting Scripture.

“Though I yearn to help, I will not violate your freedom. I stand silently in the background of your mind, waiting for you to remember that I am with you.”

Wait! What? Is Young telling us that Jesus will not do what He wants to do. Instead, He’s just gonna wait around for you to be open to His assistance?

“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

Colossians 1:16-17

Jesus is the Lord of all creation and sustains it, but He’s waiting on you and me to remember He is there in order to do something he wants to do?

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

Isaiah 46:9-10

In other words, God is the only one like Himself, and He does what He wants. Period.

The Language

Can we just get serious for a minute about the language in Jesus Calling? Was Jesus flowery, vague, and feminine in His speech? Not really. But she presents Him that way throughout Jesus Calling. Here’s one last quote to demonstrate that “Jesus” sounds more like Sarah Young than like Jesus Christ in her material. It is from July 8th, and it left me stunned into silence. It sounds like a line from a middle-aged woman’s fan fiction rather than from the Jesus of the Bible.

“Open wide your heart and mind to receive more and more of Me. When your Joy in Me meets My Joy in you, there are fireworks of heavenly ecstasy.”

Final Thought

This entire post probably seems harsh, but I’m heartbroken over so many women getting roped into emotionalism, mysticism, and feminized messages under the guise of Christianity. As of this year, the Jesus Calling brand line has sold over 35 million “units.” There’s no getting around it. Young has a major influence on Christians.

Ladies, the hardest part to stomach is that women are the predominant purchasing force behind the sales for Sarah Young, Beth Moore, and other very questionable writers and teachers. These books make us feel good and meet some sort of emotional/relational needs we have. CARM did the math for us in May of 2015. At that time, Jesus Calling had 9,554 reviews. Of the positive reviews, 88% of them were women. Good Bible teaching and sound doctrine shouldn’t have a gender split like that. There’s nothing Jesus has ever said that is true for women but not as impactful and true for men.

Don’t just take a friend’s word for it when she gives book suggestions. Just because a book is sitting on a Christian bookstore shelf or is popular does not mean it is biblical. I’m not saying burn Jesus Calling, and I don’t think you are a terrible no-good sinner for liking it. I’m just asking you to consider these things and decide if this is the kind of spiritual food you need or want.

My verdict: Trash it.

Have you read Jesus Calling? What did you think?

Other Resources Used:

Jesus Calling Book Review by 9Marks

10 Serious Problems with Jesus Calling by Tim Challies

Image courtesy of Ben White via Unsplash.