Cindy Powell

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  -John 10:27 NKJV

Yesterday, I wasn’t feeling the faith.  Each day as I finish writing, I’ve been asking the Lord what He is saying for the next day. When I asked yesterday, simultaneously, in my not-so-faith-filled heart, I also said, “Do I even hear You?”

His immediate response was: My sheep hear Me…

It was an unequivocal statement. His sheep hear Him. Period. And, if I know anything, I KNOW I belong to Him.

The problem, of course, is that He doesn’t usually speak the way we think He should speak. Or when we think He should speak. Sometimes He doesn’t say what we think He should be saying.

But He does speak.

He speaks in a still small voice … in impressions, thoughts, and pictures … in a verse or song lyrics or something you read …in seemingly random conversations … in nature … in circumstances … and especially through His own Word.

His sheep DO hear His voice. And because He KNOWS us, He knows how to speak to each of us individually.

I find that so comforting. It is my life’s highest privilege to get to know Him and make Him known, but I LOVE that He already knows me. He knows how to speak to ME. He knows our relationship. He knows my gifts. He knows my weaknesses. He knows how I process. He knows how to get my attention.

And, He knows how lead me. That’s why the ones He speaks to … the ones He knows … they follow Him.

Even when my “heart plans my way, He orders my steps” (see Proverbs 16:9). I don’t always trust my ability to follow, but I do trust His ability to lead. Following is ultimately about trust. Because we hear Him – because we belong to Him – we WILL follow Him.

We will follow Him into peace. We will follow Him into joy. We will follow Him into wisdom. We will follow Him into hope. And, someday, we will follow Him into eternity

His sheep DO hear His voice. He KNOWS us—personally, intimately, and fully. And He DOES know how to lead us … through every season of life.

Those are words I think He would like all of us to hear.

Jesus, Thank You for being the Voice that always leads us. Even when we are living in the midst of uncertainty and don’t know where the road is going, You are still faithfully leading us. And You will continue to lead us, speak to us, and guide us … right into eternity. ~Amen

I hear Him saying: Arise and shine for your light has come…