24 - Connecting w/ God
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 24 | FOLLOWING HIS VOICE
CONNECTING with GOD
Day 24 | FOLLOWING HIS VOICE
FOLLOWING HIS VOICE
John 10:3-4
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”
I'll bet there is someone in your life whose voice you recognize without even seeing them. Perhaps when they call or say something, you know in a flash WHO that is, and – assuming a close relationship – you are eager to talk more.
Sheep are fascinating animals. You see, sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a right "decision."
For example, sheep will follow each other to slaughter. If one sheep jumps over a cliff, the others are likely to follow. Even from birth, lambs are conditioned to follow the older members of the flock. This instinct is "hard-wired" into sheep. It's not something they "think" about.
It's also interesting – and perhaps a little ego-busting – that God likens us to sheep. I guess, if we're honest, we have all seen the behavior of those who followed "the crowd" and thus made one or more poor decisions. (I think we're seeing quite a bit of that in our world today.)
But the GOOD NEWS is that here in John 10, Jesus calls Himself our Shepherd.
The "gatekeeper" is the under-shepherd who worked with THE shepherd and helped guard the sheep by night. He would open the sheep pen door because he recognized the TRUE shepherd.
These verses also teach that we (born-again "sheep") hear our Shepherd's voice (that would be Christ) and follow Him OUT of the sheep pen as He leads.
Further, the Shepherd knows our names. “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”
If you think about a real shepherd of sheep, the sheep build trust in him and follow him. But shepherds need to know where they are going next, where the next water is, where the green grass is, and where it's safe. That often means that while the gatekeeper (aka "under-shepherd") is guarding the sheep in the pen, the main shepherd is walking ahead, figuring out where to take the sheep tomorrow and marking his route with special stones he takes from a bag that he carries. Then, the next day, he leads the sheep by following the path he has already surveyed, picking the stones back up that he had placed there the day before.
Our Shepherd does the same for us!
Prayer: Lord, thank YOU for being my Shepherd. Much like in Psalm 23, I am thankful that "the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Help me always to listen to and follow Your voice. Amen.
John 10:3-4
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”
I'll bet there is someone in your life whose voice you recognize without even seeing them. Perhaps when they call or say something, you know in a flash WHO that is, and – assuming a close relationship – you are eager to talk more.
Sheep are fascinating animals. You see, sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a right "decision."
For example, sheep will follow each other to slaughter. If one sheep jumps over a cliff, the others are likely to follow. Even from birth, lambs are conditioned to follow the older members of the flock. This instinct is "hard-wired" into sheep. It's not something they "think" about.
It's also interesting – and perhaps a little ego-busting – that God likens us to sheep. I guess, if we're honest, we have all seen the behavior of those who followed "the crowd" and thus made one or more poor decisions. (I think we're seeing quite a bit of that in our world today.)
But the GOOD NEWS is that here in John 10, Jesus calls Himself our Shepherd.
The "gatekeeper" is the under-shepherd who worked with THE shepherd and helped guard the sheep by night. He would open the sheep pen door because he recognized the TRUE shepherd.
These verses also teach that we (born-again "sheep") hear our Shepherd's voice (that would be Christ) and follow Him OUT of the sheep pen as He leads.
Further, the Shepherd knows our names. “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”
If you think about a real shepherd of sheep, the sheep build trust in him and follow him. But shepherds need to know where they are going next, where the next water is, where the green grass is, and where it's safe. That often means that while the gatekeeper (aka "under-shepherd") is guarding the sheep in the pen, the main shepherd is walking ahead, figuring out where to take the sheep tomorrow and marking his route with special stones he takes from a bag that he carries. Then, the next day, he leads the sheep by following the path he has already surveyed, picking the stones back up that he had placed there the day before.
Our Shepherd does the same for us!
Prayer: Lord, thank YOU for being my Shepherd. Much like in Psalm 23, I am thankful that "the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Help me always to listen to and follow Your voice. Amen.
Posted in Connecting w/ God