Jesus is Calling
PC: Britni Conrad
Hardly Worthy
If you’re anything like me, devotions can be hard. Some weeks I journal, others I read the Bible, while still others I simply pray. It’s not consistent, but that’s something I crave in my spiritual life. I want to find the balance between being consistent, but not making it so routine it becomes mundane.
For Christmas a couple years ago, my grandmother gifted me the book “Jesus Calling.” I opened the gift and promptly stuck it on my shelf, determined to start it on the New Year. Yeah, it’s been two and a half years and I finally got to reading it and let me tell you: it’s changed my devotional life. I started it about midway through last semester. If you’ve never seen it, it’s about an inch thick and fits nicely in your hand. Since the original, quite a few other books have been published in the series.
The book has daily devotionals to go along with each date, eg. July 5, Aug. 8, and it seems that there are words that pop out at me every time I read it. Each day, it feels like that page was meant for me. The words aren’t just words on a page, but are straight to the point and thought provoking.
The writer, Sarah Young, writes in first person, as if God is speaking directly to you. She uses modern day language with phrases that really catch my attention. Each daily page has one to two paragraphs, which makes it very easy to read in a morning to get you started for the day or at night to cap it off, or during any of the in-betweens.
The bottom of the page has one to three verses that harmonize with the other text. Usually the verses are short, but I like to read out of two versions of the Bible to grasp the full meaning of what God is saying. The best part about this book (though the message is short and concise) is that it allows for more time for an imminent time to talk with God. The verses help highlight important reminders from God.
I love to journal, so this book also brings up topics I highlight and come back to in order to ponder and question them. If you’ve reached a spiritual low and you feel like you can’t get back into your old routine, or you have just become busy, check out “Jesus Calling.” I have appreciated the important spiritual messages I so often forget in my humanness. I’m reminded that God is the reason. He’s the reason.
Kasondra Reel is a senior studying nursing.