The sheep follow Him because they know His voice – John 10:4

We may know about the God who spoke in history and  that He spoke through His prophets and leaders.  That He speaks even today and that too  in a personal way is seldom thought about or may be seen suspiciously. Many don’t think about relationship with God in those terms.  Jesus spoke about how the sheep  hear  the shepherd’s  voice  which is metaphor used to describe our  listening experience with God.

The sheep knows the voice of the shepherd and the shepherd knows the names  of every  sheep. Similarly, God knows us by our names individually and hence he  calls each individual by name as it is written in Isaiah 43:1.   When any of the sheep is lost, the shepherd is eagerly searching by calling out the name so that he can find them.

The  sheep can identify their shepherd’s voice distinctly even when other voices clamor for  attention.  But sheep do have a reputation for being dumb and  stupid. They can get easily distracted and wander off. It’s a good shepherd  who  gently restores, even carries the wandering sheep. When God calls us by name, are we able to listen to Him?

Jesus said that there many sheep which are not of His fold and  He even knows them by name and wants  to bring them into His fold. Some sheep may belong to other  folds, they may respond only to their shepherds. There are so many false shepherds, false voices who gather their flock. There’s also the proverbial  wolf dressed in sheep’s clothing among the flock.

Hearing the voice of the Good  Shepherd can only happen if you’re one of His flock.  Do you know His voice?  Are other voices,  including your own inner voice preventing you from hearing the Shepherd?   If not, don’t delay and decide today itself to accept Jesus as your true Shepherd and get into His fold to listen to Him for a joy filled and peaceful life.

Dear Lord, I commit today that I am your sheep in your fold and help me to let go of all other distractions which prevent me to hear or ignore your voice.

CCF acknowledges with Thanks to CIM (Christian Institute of Management) for allowing to republish this article by CCF core team member, which originally was published in Management Devotional of CIM.