The voice of the Shepherd goes before us, guides us, protects us and tells us who we are. The Shepherd is there whispering His love for us. That’s when the Shepherd comes searching to bring them back and remind them where they belong and to whom they belong. He even loves those sheep who wander away. The Shepherd loves those who don’t want to have anything to do with Him. Or worse, they don’t think they can ever be worthy of that love. Yet sometimes, as adults, even after hearing all the promises of God, they still persist in living outside the flock They question the voice of the Shepherd or the sincerity of the Voice. The voice of the Shepherd calls us by name He is the One who gave His life for us. All the time what they really want, what they really need is someone to care – someone to call their name and let them know they matter. They can do whatever they want as long as they don’t get into trouble or inconvenience the parents. There are children who don’t know the voice of a caring parent. He promises to restore our souls and leads us through the valley of the shadow of Death. Listening to the Shepherd helps us in making hard choices, about who we are, what we believe and what is really important to us.įrom the moment of our baptism and our birth into the Kingdom of God, the Good Shepherd promises to lead us to green pastures and beside the still waters. The Thomases committed their troubles to prayer, looked to God for guidance, listened for the Voice of the Shepherd and God gave them the direction they needed. Within three months they had cracked the highly competitive New York major deli market. The manager tasted it and immediately bought out their entire inventory. They packaged it and then called on a local cheese shop. She prepared a substantial amount of the mustard. But after considerable discussion and prayer they decided to listen to the voice. Reluctantly she told Nick, who, thought she had gone mad. But they kept coming more and more persistently. Every Christmas she made this special mustard and gave it to family and friends. In church one morning, she thought she could almost hear the words, “Make the mustard.” Her family had a mustard recipe from Russia. Every morning in church she prayed that something good would happen to change their fortune. He didn’t know what to do.įrustrated, Nick’s wife, Liz turned to prayer. After a successful career in the Air Force and then in the insurance business, a series of financial setbacks and the failure of his own consulting business left him with no place to turn. All we have to do is continue to listen to His Voice.Īnd when we prepare our hearts through prayer and worship we’re able to more clearly listen to the Shepherd who guides us.Īt age 47, Nick Thomas found himself unemployed and under tremendous financial pressure. There may be hardships, mishaps, even struggles but The Shepherd has already prepared a way through for. He’s already made the path clear and safe. The Shepherd goes before us and prepares the way, which means there’s no place we go the Shepherd hasn’t already been. This passage reminds us that the voice of the Shepherd goes before us – guiding us, protecting us, and telling us who we are. We get so absorbed in what we’re doing or with ourselves, we just don’t listen. Sometimes we don’t listen to God and Jesus, either. Sometimes we don’t listen, do we? We do that with parents, spouses and children.
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