A New Habit From Jesus Calling

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Deborah Jentsch tells the story of how she integrated a new habit inspired by Jesus Calling. Saying ‘I trust You, Jesus’ to whatever comes.

Calling On Jesus Up On The Mountain

For the second year in a row I read these words from the Jesus Calling devotional on January 4:

“I want you to learn a new habit. Try saying, ‘I trust You, Jesus,’ in response to whatever happens to you.”

I reminded my husband of what we had read after reaching the top of the mountain we were about to ski down. Kurt realized his skis wouldn’t fit onto his boots while trying to snap them into place. Inadvertently, he had grabbed the wrong rental skis, amidst the many placed in ski racks the day before. Encouraging him to say, “I trust You, Jesus” in response to this frustrating circumstance was much easier that day than it was thirty hours later when I heard a familiar voice on my cell phone say, “Caleb’s been hurt. They are life-flighting him to Denver.” We were, on that January 5 and many days ahead, given the opportunity to say, “I trust You, Jesus” and pray He would help us when we found it so difficult to trust and understand His plan.

The devotion from Jesus Calling on the morning of January 5 took on a more personal meaning by the end of that day:

“You can achieve the victorious life through living in deep dependence on Me. People usually associate victory with success: not falling or stumbling, not making mistakes”.

The referenced verses from Psalm 34 and 2 Corinthians 5 that are listed at the end of the devotion identified us correctly—as “crushed in spirit” but determined to “walk by faith, not by sight.” Our middle child had been skiing with friends when he and his best friend made a mistake and crossed skis, taking them in very different directions. They both lost control, stumbled, and fell, before Caleb’s head struck a tree lying in the snow. The surgeon would later say, “He was a knife’s edge between life and death.”

The Jesus Calling entry on January 20 was specific and almost unbelievable. A day earlier an e-mail gave us detailed information we had requested—a time line from when Caleb was injured to when he was placed on the operating table at the hospital. We had already learned about the “golden hour,” which refers to the first hour after a traumatic injury—the time in which emergency treatment should occur in order for Caleb to have the best chance to survive.

Many details came together perfectly during his golden hour, and Caleb was in surgery within sixty-five minutes. When I awoke at 3:00 a.m. on January 20, I thought about how only God could have orchestrated the events. I continued to dwell on them and even texted my friend, Lori, who lay asleep in the other room, telling her to help me remember the word “orchestrate”. I wanted to be sure I would remember what God had told me during the night, and I shared it with her the next morning as we drank our first cup of coffee. Then we read the day’s devotion from Jesus Calling for January 20:

Remember that it is I who orchestrate the events of your life. . . . I may be doing something important in your life, something quite different from what you expected. It is essential at such times to stay in communication with Me, accepting My way as better than yours. Don’t try to figure out what is happening. Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance for the good that will come out of it all. I know the plans I have for you, and they are good.

I was in awe of what we read—it was so specific to what I had experienced during the night. I knew this devotion was a direct message to us.

Sharing the Blessing of Trusting in Jesus

We read Jesus Calling to Caleb during the first thirteen days he lay in a coma and for the following four months while bound in post-traumatic amnesia, until he was able to read it for himself. Our family’s journey has led us to many new places, both physically and spiritually. We experienced both highs and lows. There were many occasions in our journey when we found Jesus Calling speaking specifically to what we were experiencing that day. We were also blessed to give the daily devotional to doctors, nurses, caregivers, patients, their families, and others the Spirit would lead us to. We prayed it would bless them as it has us.

Caleb had a traumatic brain injury but has healed well. He tells others about his injury as a way to share his testimony and the importance of wearing the true helmet of salvation – He then gives a copy of Jesus Calling to each person. He always has a box full of Jesus Calling devotionals in his car, which his grandmother’s friends help supply so he can continue to share with others. It truly seems to be the gift that keeps on giving. When you receive a gift that leads you to a deeper relationship with Jesus, you can’t keep it to yourself.

We continue to share the faithfulness of God in our journey, hoping others will put their trust in Him with their life’s journey. We are currently publishing Caleb’s story in a book titled SpillWay. We know this is not about Caleb and SpillWay; this is not about Sarah Young and Jesus Calling; and this is not about the Jesus Calling blog or podcast. We believe this is about a movement by the Spirit of God that we have experienced and are blessed to be a part of.