LISTENING: Voice Recognition

As number two of eight children in my family, I lived at home and went to college in our hometown in order to earn the first degree in my family's history. I worked up to three jobs at a time to help with expenses for my classes, including being a receptionist with a car dealer.  One day my boss sent me to a neighboring town to get a car title. On my way home, I was hurrying to make an afternoon class with mandatory attendance. Suddenly, I knew I was to take a left turn on a side road, which meant a longer way home.  It would make me late to my class, but I knew I had to do it. So I turned left and arrived late for my class.

Did I avoid an accident? I'll never know. But though I had not yet surrendered my life to Christ, I knew from my upbringing that He was real and He guided His people. I was thankful--even at the expense of being wrong--that I heeded that truth.

Yesterday I was busy writing. I felt some resistance to a few of the words I wrote. True though they were, something felt wrong about using them, and I couldn't shake the feeling until I removed them.

Silly? Perhaps. But now I am surrendered to Christ, and you'd better believe that if I think He's talking to me, I'm going to listen.  Whether it's a blatant wrong or a better decision He wants me to make, I want to err on the side of Christ caution. Jesus tells us: ". . .The sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice" (John 10:3-4).

Is He talking to you today? Are you ignoring that voice or, perhaps, arguing with it? Are you resisting doing what He tells you to do or convincing yourself that what you feel is just plain foolish?

If you belong to the Shepherd, if you are the persuaded, according to John 10 . . .

He calls you by name.
He leads you.
He goes before you.
It's up to you to know His voice and follow Him.