Whose Voice?
"He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers."
—John 10:3b-5
There are those people who call us — our parents, spouse, children, friends — whose voices we instantly recognize.
I answered the phone this past week and heard a familiar "hey friend," on the other end. It was the voice of one of my best friends. I recognized her voice, because I have heard that voice countless times over the last 13 years. That phone conversation started me thinking about the voices we recognize, and are comfortable with.
There are those voices, like the voice of my friend, that you may go months without hearing, but are somehow able to instantly reconnect. There are the voices, like the voice of my parents, that you hear a couple of times a week. Then there are the voices, like the voice of my wife, that you could not imagine a day without.
I have to ask myself regularly, which of those voices reflects the voice of God in my life? Is he a good friend that I can gain great encouragement from, but can also go months without contact? Is God like a parent who provides deep insight and sound advice, but isn’t a necessary voice each day? Or is God's voice more like the voice of a spouse, who brings encouragement, and reality… pointing out both successes and failures, for the sake of encouragement and betterment? Is God's voice a voice that I cannot live a day without?
Jesus used the picture of a shepherd. The sheep spent every moment of every day within earshot of their shepherd. They slept near their shepherd, who perhaps sang to himself by the campfire as did David. The sheep knew the voice of the shepherd because they were constantly in the presence of the shepherd.
Whose voice will you hear this week? Whose voice will have the most pull in your life? Will you put yourself in situations of proximity to the shepherd or will you wait for his call in a few months?
Homework this week: Examine the voices in your day, both the voices of people, and of habits (e.g. How loud is the voice of your computer or TV compared to the voice of God?). Examine and set priorities based on your desire for the Shepherd’s voice in your life.
—John 10:3b-5
There are those people who call us — our parents, spouse, children, friends — whose voices we instantly recognize.
I answered the phone this past week and heard a familiar "hey friend," on the other end. It was the voice of one of my best friends. I recognized her voice, because I have heard that voice countless times over the last 13 years. That phone conversation started me thinking about the voices we recognize, and are comfortable with.
There are those voices, like the voice of my friend, that you may go months without hearing, but are somehow able to instantly reconnect. There are the voices, like the voice of my parents, that you hear a couple of times a week. Then there are the voices, like the voice of my wife, that you could not imagine a day without.
I have to ask myself regularly, which of those voices reflects the voice of God in my life? Is he a good friend that I can gain great encouragement from, but can also go months without contact? Is God like a parent who provides deep insight and sound advice, but isn’t a necessary voice each day? Or is God's voice more like the voice of a spouse, who brings encouragement, and reality… pointing out both successes and failures, for the sake of encouragement and betterment? Is God's voice a voice that I cannot live a day without?
Jesus used the picture of a shepherd. The sheep spent every moment of every day within earshot of their shepherd. They slept near their shepherd, who perhaps sang to himself by the campfire as did David. The sheep knew the voice of the shepherd because they were constantly in the presence of the shepherd.
Whose voice will you hear this week? Whose voice will have the most pull in your life? Will you put yourself in situations of proximity to the shepherd or will you wait for his call in a few months?
Homework this week: Examine the voices in your day, both the voices of people, and of habits (e.g. How loud is the voice of your computer or TV compared to the voice of God?). Examine and set priorities based on your desire for the Shepherd’s voice in your life.