Voices

“God knows your voice. He knows the number of hairs on your head. And He desperately wants you to know His voice.”

 “…The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” (John 10:3-4 ESV).

We were in a crowded children’s museum that was crawling with 4-year-olds. They were everywhere, running around like little ants. It was contained chaos. The moms stood off to the side, chatting about mom stuff and drinking coffee and energy teas. The place was buzzing with the gleeful squeals of field-trip fun, with creativity, with freedom from the confines of a classroom. And out of the noise, I heard a shrill that I instantly recognized as my daughter’s. She had climbed to the top of an enclosed firehouse, attempting to slide down the fireman pole. It wasn’t going as planned, and she was in a state of panic. I couldn’t see her. But I heard her. And I knew her voice. Her cry.

A few years ago, we had a terrible storm during the middle of the night. The lights went out while we were asleep, and my son was terrified. The comforting noise of his sound machine was no longer drowning out the peals of thunder and the crashing lightening. He had made it to the living room, frozen in fear as he attempted to grope about in search of my bedroom. I entered the living room and said, “It’s ok bud. I’m here.” And at the sound of my voice, he found relief. He knew he wasn’t alone. He knew my voice.

One thing both scenarios have in common- a recognized voice.

If you are a parent, you know. There is something about your child’s voice that stands apart in a sea of other screaming children. There is something about your voice that they instantly detect, too. And it is because we know one another on a level that is perhaps deeper than any other. We carried them in the womb, forming an intimacy unlike any other. They know our voices before they ever take a breath. And they never stop knowing our voice.

God knows your voice. He knows the number of hairs on your head. And He desperately wants you to know His voice.

In the Gospel of John, he recounts a conversation Jesus has with a crowd of Pharisees and Jews. Jesus expounds on the idea that He is the ultimate “Good Shepherd.” And the implications wouldn’t have been lost on this crowd (although many failed to see the truth that day) because this was a common profession.

Here’s the deal with sheep: they are meek, vulnerable to attack, defenseless, and some would say they are maybe even a little dumb. They have a propensity to wander away. They need to be led to safety. They aren’t driven out to pasture, but instead they are led by the shepherd’s voice. They follow it because they know it, and in consequence, they follow his steps. They need a shepherd for survival. And not just any shepherd. Their shepherd. It was customary for shepherds to name each sheep in the process of teaching them to learn his voice. It took time- time the shepherd sacrificed to be among his flock. And because the sheep did know the shepherd’s distinct voice, they would scatter and run from any voice that wasn’t his. They feared a voice they didn’t recognize.

A few questions you can ask yourself:

1.     Do you really know His voice?

I don’t mean knowing Him in a vague, “oh yes, I am a Christian” sort of way. I mean in the deepest sense of intimacy. We know the voice of God by spending time with Him. We learn His distinct voice through intimacy with Him. You don’t have to spend your life guessing at what He wants you to do or wondering how He feels. You don’t have to wander and grope around in the darkness. But if you are going to know Him, you have to remain close to Him. You have to do what places you in His presence. And the more you do this, the more easily you recognize His voice. We can’t expect to know His voice apart from others if we don’t have a real relationship with Him. Jesus sacrificed Himself, leaving the throne of Heaven, to come and dwell among us so that we could know Him, not simply by reading/following the Law, but by Him dwelling inside us. What are you doing to know His voice?

2.     Are you following the voice of a stranger?

There are “strangers” calling out to us daily. They come in the form of cultural pressures/norms and social media and the opinions of others. They come in the form of busyness. And they are so much easier to hear, aren’t they? They are so much easier to follow. They drown out the voice of God if you give them your attention. Like sheep, we have the propensity to wander. We aren’t usually dragged away by force, like the thieves and robbers spoken of in John 10. Instead, we are led away by the subtle call of a voice that seems “okay” or “socially acceptable.” It’s these subtle and inviting voices of strangers that we follow, slowly wandering away from our Good Shepherd. We slowly give attention to things that change our priorities. And we lose our intimacy with the One who calls us.

I’ve wandered from His presence, and sometimes I still do. But I am so thankful for a Shepherd who comes after me, leaving the ninety-nine to find the one (Luke 15:4). He does this for you. He longs for you to know His voice and for you follow in His footsteps. Following the voices of strangers only leads to the wilderness. Cultivate an intimacy with Jesus, and follow him to safety and rest.