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Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

Here’s what Jesus didn’t say – “Only a select few, super spiritual will hear my voice.” No, he said, “My sheep listen to my voice.”

Jesus calls himself our Good Shepherd. What does that mean? In ancient Israel, a shepherd wasn’t just the owner of sheep – a shepherd was the one who lived with the sheep. His entire life was dedicated to his sheep. He slept near them at night. He protected them from danger. He led them to green pastures to eat and water to drink. The shepherd of this day knew each one of sheep individually. He knew which one was stubborn. He knew which one was prone to wander. He knew which one would lollygag and get lost. He also knew the dillydallyer that would inevitably get stuck in a ditch somewhere.

A shepherd wasn’t like a cattle rancher driving a herd from behind. A shepherd led from the front and the sheep followed him. My friends, THAT’S OUR JESUS.

He could have called himself anything. He could have called himself the General of the Army of followers. He could have called himself King. He could have given himself a crown of immeasurable value. But instead, he chose to be a shepherd to his sheep. To lovingly stay close.

Shepherds in Jesus’ day would often bring their sheep into a communal sheep pen at night. Several flocks would be together in one place with one gatekeeper watching over them. The next morning multiple shepherds would come to collect their sheep. There weren’t separate sections. They weren’t color coded.

The shepherd simply called his sheep. And his sheep got up and followed him. The others didn’t move.

Can you imagine the noise? Hundreds of sheep. Multiple shepherds calling out. Yet somehow each sheep knew which voice belonged to the one they trusted. They knew because they had heard it thousands of times before. They learned their shepherd’s tone, their shepherd’s call, their shepherd’s character. Their shepherd wasn’t a stranger to them – the other voices were.

A shepherd would continaully speak to his flock while leading them. He wanted his sheep to know his voice so if they wandered, they would return. A study was once done testing a flock of sheep to see how they recognized their own shepherd above anyone else trying to lead them. Thinking perhaps it was the scent of their clothes or their appearance, they dressed another man in the shepherd’s clothing and had him call to the flock of sheep. They would not listen. But their own shepherd, in completely different clothing could call out, and all the sheep would come running to his side. There was one thing they recognized – one thing they followed – HIS VOICE.

Jesus doesn’t say his sheep will always make the right decisions. Sheep are generally rather ignorant and they continually get themselves into perdicaments where only their shepherd can rescue them. But what matters is his sheep know his voice. They know when he calls. They know when he directs.

But I know the question we all have – DO I REALLY HEAR GOD’S VOICE? Am I good enough to know when it’s him guiding me?

The sheep has no qualification here. The sheep just naturally know. The work is of the shepherd. The sheep simply listen.

And isn’t that our problem – sometimes we’re simply not listening. We live in a world that is so busy and loud that we can’t hear our shepherd. We’re so quick to turn to anyone and anything that might give us immediate answers. We’ll turn on a podcast, we’ll call a friend, we’ll look for a sign, we’ll seek anything for a little guidance, but we won’t get still. We won’t get quiet. We won’t just sit with our shepherd and be close.

So we miss it.

Can we hear him – YES. We are sheep and the one thing we have the ability to do is hear our Shepherd. We don’t have the ability to figure things out on our own. We don’t have the ability to navigate our own way. We don’t have the ability to fix or change things. But we have the ability to listen and hear the voice that guides us. But we often don’t because we’re won’t … We won’t be still. We won’t be quiet. We won’t wait for his voice.

Here’s what we often do – “God please speak to me. Tell me what to do.”
While God is saying, “Would you please just spend time with me?”

When an audiable voice becomes more important than a close relationship, we’ve missed the point. The sheep weren’t just wanting the voice of their shepherd to make them feel more confident. The sheep wanted the closeness of their shepherd because it was their way of life!

What if instead of asking God to speak to us, we begin by saying “God, I just want to draw near to you.”

The goal isn’t to get better at hearing voices. The goal is to spend so much time with Jesus that you become familiar with him. When you’re familiar with him, you’ll know his ways. You’ll know his rhythm. And when he speaks, you will KNOW it’s him. Relationship produces recognition.

Ask anyone who truly receives the promptings of the Lord and his clear directions and I guarantee you they have a RELATIONSHIP build from a foundation of TIME spent with God. When you spend time with the Shepherd, you become familiar with his voice and you won’t be fooled by other voices – including your own.

Relationship changes our ability to recognize Him.

Our Good Shepherd says in John 10:5, “My sheep will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” And that’s our problem. We’ve spent too much time with strange voices. We’ve wandered off into flocks we don’t belong in with shepherds who are not our own. So we’ve gotten confused. The voice of the world is no longer a stranger to us – it’s so familiar that we don’t run from it. Social media is loud. Our own voice of fear and shame and comparison has been listened to so often that it’s just normal for us to do the stupid stuff our own mind comes up with. We’ve crowded out the voice of our shepherd and that’s why we’re confused.

So what do you do? TURN OFF THE NOISE. GET BACK TO YOUR SHEPHERD.
Where do you find your shepherd? Verse 4 tells us, “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” HE’S AHEAD OF YOU. Look forward. Don’t look back. Don’t wander in circles. He is in front of you, making a way, clearing the path for you.

Wherever you’re walking today, Jesus has already been there. This isn’t about asking Jesus to hurry up and catch up with you – this is about looking up and seeing where he is in front of you.

What if today we changed our prayers a bit. What if today we prayed, “Jesus, where are you already going? I simply want to follow you.”

It’s never about the sheep charting their own way. Sheep aren’t bucketlist destination diving out there. They’re following where the shepherd leads and finding the most perfect green pastures along the way to enjoy. The shepherd was already going great places, the sheep simply had to follow.

I assure you, Jesus, your Good Shepherd, is going to better places than you have ever imagined. His plans are higher, better and bigger than anything your human/slash/sheep mind could ever dream up. If you will just follow him, you’ll get to experience the most beautiful things this life has to offer.

Jesus, where are you already going? I simply want to follow you.

Are you already going over here to this new job opportunity – I want to follow you. If you have something else in mind, then Jesus I don’t want to wander off into fields of my own. I want to stay close to you.

I’ve decided I’m just following Jesus. His voice is heard when I stay close. His voice is heard when I am still and quiet.

When I stay close, I don’t have to wake up every morning worrying if the voice I’m hearing is my shepherd. If I’m close, then I know. But if I’ve been scrolling all night, watching countless videos, reading the posts of strangers, then I am confused. I’ve drawn close to strangers and their voices may be calling me.

Girl, get yourself back to Jesus. Stay close to him. That is truly your answer. Shut out everything else.

The sheep don’t follow because they understand everything. They follow because they trust the One who is speaking.

We tend to put all the pressure on ourselves. What if I miss him? What if I make the wrong decision? What if I’m just making this up? All while Jesus is saying, “I’m a shepherd. This is what I do!”

He knows how to lead sheep. He isn’t intimidated by stubborn sheep. He isn’t surprised by wandering sheep. He isn’t confused by lost sheep. That’s His specialty.

The pressure isn’t on the sheep to become brilliant navigators. The pressure is off because we have a brilliant Shepherd.

The shepherd is speaking to you. He’s calling you to just go where he goes. Decide now you simply want to follow your Shepherd.

Friend, perhaps you’ve made hearing God’s voice far more complicated than Jesus ever intended. He didn’t say His sheep would have extraordinary wisdom. He didn’t say His sheep would never wander. He didn’t say His sheep would always make the right decisions. He simply said His sheep know His voice.

If you’ve wandered, come back.

If you’ve grown confused, come back.

If you’ve filled your mind with stranger’s voices, come back.

He’s not disappointed that you’re returning. He’s a Shepherd. This is what He does.

He goes before you. He calls your name. He lovingly leads. And all He’s asking of you today is what sheep have always done—simply follow.

Jesus, where are You already going? I simply want to follow You.

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