Day Five
Hearing His Voice

"When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them,
 and his sheep follow him because they know his voice."
John 10:4

     If we trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are His sheep. If we make a habit of not listening to our Master's voice, we will harden ourselves toward it. We can turn and run blindly away from Him and, by not obeying, forget the sound of His voice. By not following Jesus consistently, we can tune out His voice and open a door for false shepards to enter in.

     The next verse after John 10:4 is equally as important. His sheep will not follow a stranger's voice. Not only do the sheep follow because they know their master's voice, but they stay away from strangers because they don't recognize the stranger's voice. The more we recognize the Master's voice, the less chance we will be swept away by false doctrine.

     The most remarkable thing about the voice of our Master is that it rarely rises above a whisper. So, if we are not training our ears to hear Him, we can easily let the outside world drown Him out. We can let other louder voices drown Him out. We can allow our own selfish voice to drown Him out. And Jesus will allow us to go down that path and patiently wait for us to grow quiet and listen again.

* A disciple does not forsake listening to his Master's voice

Application: Have I made a habit of listening to His voice? Have I allowed other voices to crowd His out?