“I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, 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 10:1-5
I find it interesting how often over the past year I have been asked, “How do you know if it’s God’s voice?” There are some ways of determining that it’s not God like if it goes against the Bible but sadly I do not know of a formula where if all the criteria are met, then you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was God. I do however believe that Jesus gave us the parable in John 10 for a reason.
One of my neighbors from my childhood told me an interesting story one time. He said that his wife could stand out in the middle of the field with with a bag of feed and the sheep would just stand there but when the sheep caught a glimpse of him, they would come running. I don’t know how accurate the story is but I believe there is some truth in it. If you think about it, who’s there when the sheep are born? Who’s there nursing the young lambs with a bottle until they are strong enough? Who’s there letting the sheep out into the field in the morning and back into the barn at night? Who’s voice do they hear during these times? The answer is obviously the Shepherd’s and that’s why his voice means food and safety to the sheep.
If you want to know God’s voice, make sure you are spending time with Him. It’s not a one day, week, or even year process. It will take a lifetime commitment but it will be worth it.
Originally posted January 3, 2010.