My sermon yesterday was rooted in John 10:1-10 in which Jesus describes Himself as the Good Shepherd. One of the key points in that message was that Jesus invites us to a relationship of incredible intimacy, as is suggested by His words: “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out…and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (emphasis added).

Do we know the Shepherd’s voice? One of the challenges of my spiritual life, it occurs to me, is that I can get so busy speaking to the Shepherd that I don’t get around to listening to the Shepherd. This is not to say that expressions of praise and thanksgiving, prayers for others, and the crafting of brief devotional thoughts have no place. But sometimes, perhaps, we just need to shut up and let the Shepherd speak.

So I’m listening to The Voice today. May you, too, find stillness in which the Shepherd can speak to you.