The Good Shepherd

The Good ShepherdWhen I was younger, I wanted to hear God’s voice. Audibly. People kept saying that God had told them things, and I wanted to know why he’d been avoiding me. Maybe I wasn’t his type? I asked around and began to realize that when most people said that God was talking to them, what they meant was, sometimes their inner monologue said something that felt Warm and Profound and Suspiciously Like the Thing They Wanted God to Say. I was old enough to know that I couldn’t trust myself to go down that path. The first helpful response I got was that God has already spoken in the Bible: if you want to hear him talk, start there. Fair point. I hadn’t read every word of the Bible yet, so it was reasonable to assume that what I was looking for might be in there. But I felt there was an equally reasonable chance that God didn’t say anything in the Bible about whether I should quit theater and start a band. Was I just looking for broad principles to apply? Was that what it meant to hear God’s voice? No, I don’t think I was looking for advice. I was looking for connection. Words are important. Jesus is the Word, and we are to hide the Word of God in our hearts; to obey it. Jesus' voice doesn't contradict his word. But there is a difference between someone’s words and their voice. Voice is less about what’s said and more about the person saying it. It shapes the way we receive their words. You can tell by the voice whether an apology was sincere or required by parental mandate. Same words; different voice. God keeps saying things like, “seeds become plants.” If He weren’t saying it, it wouldn’t happen. And he must really like saying that. But if you’ve ever seen the cycle of life unfold, you’ll know the mere words are insufficient. Witnessing the miracle invokes a kind of awe that the words can only point to. If God has a voice, then experiencing its thunder and whisper, its life-giving power, can’t be replaced by reading about it. What does it feel like when God talks? His sheep know.