The Value of Knowing the Shepherd’s Voice

We knew our beloved black lab was entering his final years when he started going blind. At first he was just skittish around loud noises. Then, he couldn’t find the tennis ball when we played fetch. Eventually, Kelby’s eyes turned as milky white as the creme in a Cadbury Creme Egg. In the last few months of his life, Kelby could barely find the way from his bed to his water dish. In these moments, he heavily relied on my voice and the voice of my husband. We comforted him. We guided him. Many times our voice was the only way he found his way back to the house. As his eyesight progressively worsened, we would lift him out of his kennel and walk him to his water dish, soothing him with our words and gently guiding his movements with our hands so he didn’t run into all the things he couldn’t see.

the shepherd's voice

Knowing the Shepherd’s Voice

In many ways, this scenario illustrates how tenderly God loves us. Our shepherd cares deeply for his flock.

“The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. …he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ~John 10:3-5 (NIV)

Our shepherd leads us through the dangers and afflictions of life. He is there to guide us when the path before us seems treacherous; scary. However, we still need to be able to recognize his voice. We still need to listen to him and surrender to his guidance.

  • We will never benefit from the guidance of our shepherd if we don’t first relinquish control of our life and trust him.
  • We need to cultivate our relationship with God now, when things are ok, so that when we are blind with anguish, fear, anger, hurt… we know his voice. We need to be able to recognize God’s voice in our lives, so that we can be comforted and guided by it.

Don’t wait until you are already in a crisis to lean heavily on the shepherd. He cares deeply for you, and he wants to keep you from running into all the dangers you cannot see.

Why don’t you spend some time today getting to know the voice of the shepherd?

Thank you for reading and have a blessed day!
Sara


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One Comment

  1. I appreciate this tender comparison to our natural love for a beloved pet and our decided love for our God and Maker. Natural things all around us show us God’s love for us. It must be our decision to accept it and depend on it.