SEEK DEVOTIONAL

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me… a stranger they will not follow, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

These words of Jesus from John 10 are remarkable. If you read the Genesis account of the fall, the first thing the serpent tempts Eve with is the question, “Did God really say…?” So Jesus’ statements don’t just encourage those of us who belong to Him, they resonate with redemptive purpose from the garden and unto eternity.

If you have placed your faith and trust in Jesus, you hear Him. This is a covenantal promise from your Savior. However, our ability to hear the Lord more clearly is, in many ways, in our hands. Look at Psalm 95:7–8 (a passage quoted in the book of Hebrews on three separate occasions):

For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
“Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness.”

I emboldened “today” and “will” intentionally; this is so important. Hearing and listening to God is an act of our own will. Of course, there is the audible voice of God (I have yet to experience this), but more often God speaks through Scripture, through relationships, through sermons, through this devotional, through the innocence of children, through songs, nature, a tug on your heart to be kind to a stranger, through conviction of sin, through dreams, and through yearnings within your heart.

So how do we attune our ears, or maybe unclog them, to hear more accurately? By devoted time meditating on what He has already spoken through Scripture. In the same way I recognize my wife’s voice when she walks into a room, because I have spent years knowing her and conversing with her. The same is true with God. The more time you spend in wholehearted devotion to God’s Word, the more easily you will recognize His voice. Also, the more you will be able to recognize when it is the “strangers” voice, it will not align with the Truth or nature of God as revealed through the Bible.

Our world is noisy. Modern life is filled with emails, ai, texts, algorithms crafted to steal our attention, endless ads, conspiracy theories, and turmoil in the world. But the voice of our Master is strong, steady, and good. His Word, as Hebrews says, is sharper than any two-edged sword, it divides between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Today, if you hear Him speak, don’t be like the rebellious who shut their ears and harden their hearts. Open your heart and lean in. It may be conviction of sin, but that is Him drawing you toward freedom, not rejection, shame, or condemnation.

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You that I can hear Your voice. I will not follow another’s. I follow You. I open my heart to whatever You want to speak. Help me to see how You are speaking all around me, and may I be attentive to Your voice as I devote myself to Scripture. Thank You that I belong to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.