“He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he gets them all out, he leads them and they follow because they are familiar with his voice. They won’t follow a stranger’s voice but will scatter because they aren’t used to the sound of it.” (John 10:4-5, The Message)
My nephew is an amazing young man. Actually all my nieces and nephews are amazing, but I’m only referencing one of them today. He has had tremendous success in raising show lambs. He’s a hard worker and his sheep business has really taken off. He also is a student at Texas A&M University and his flock lives 200 miles away, so he needs some really good help.
He’s got that help from his dad (my baby brother) and his grandpa (our dad). The flock lives on Grandpa’s ranch, so his is the voice they hear most often. They may be officially nephew’s lambs, but if they have a shepherd, it’s Grandpa (or Big Grandpa as he is now known to his great-granddaughter … my granddaughter … I had to throw that in).
I am useless in helping with the sheep when I am there because they don’t know my voice. The only way I can help is by standing in a gap where they should not go. They are afraid of me, even though I’m a good guy and have no plans to harm them.
I could go on with the story, but here’s the point: our Shepherd knows us and calls us by name. If we belong to Him, and if we are being still enough to listen (see yesterday’s post), we will recognize His voice above all others and He will lead us where He wants us to go and to the places that are best for us. (See Psalm 23)
Our Shepherd knows us and calls us by name. Click To Tweet
Question: What ways have you learned to recognize the voice of the Shepherd?
Leave a comment. I’d love to learn from your perspective.
