Just One Word

Have you ever called a particular person only to be caught off guard when someone else answers the phone? Sometimes, it only takes that one word - "Hello?" - for you to know that you are not talking to the person you thought you were talking to. It doesn't take much for you to realize that you don't recognize that voice.

Or consider it the other way around. Have you ever walked into a room knowing who was in there before you even saw the faces? That certain voice or laugh was familiar enough that you knew who was present before you even entered the room.

The other day, I heard my roommate talking on skype. Without looking, I yelled, "Hi, Amber!" across the suite, recognizing my friend on the other end of line by the sound of her voice.

Or the other night, I was sitting in our living room studying with my suitemates when we heard footsteps in the hallway accompanied by a loud burst of laughter. "Ann is home!" my suitemate broke the silence in our study session. We all laughed as we realized that everyone knows Ann by her laugh.

I was thinking about all these scenarios when I read John 10 this week. Jesus, speaking of Himself as the the good shepherd, said, "He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him because they know His voice. But they will never follow a stranger...because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." (vs. 4-5)

Just like we are able to recognize the people we love by the sound of their voices, so we can come to know God's voice when we grow in intimacy with Him. I want to be able to hear God and know without a doubt that it is Him speaking to me.When He speaks, I want to be able to say with a smile on my face, "Yes, I recognize that voice. I know that voice."

In the same way, when the enemy speaks his lies and the world throws out its temptations, I want to respond by saying, "Sorry, but I don't recognize that voice." I don't have to respond to those voices because they are unfamiliar.

How do we get to the point where we are able to recognize God's voice? It is just like we get to know the voices of the people around us. The more we spend time with Him, the more we will come to recognize His voice. The more we read His Word, the more we will fill our minds and hearts with the sound of His voice and the more we will recognize Him when He speaks.

When it comes to making decisions and learning to discern God's voice above all the noise, people often ask, "How do I know if it is God speaking to me or not?" I believe that we should start by asking this question: "Do I recognize this voice?" If it's the voice of the one we love, then we will recognize His voice from a million miles away.

Jesus said His sheep are familiar with His voice. He is inviting us to be His sheep, to be intimate with Him, to know His voice so personally that we can recognize the sound of it by just one word.