The kids and I decided to check out the closing sale of the Lifeway Christian Bookstore today. Having two very antsy children almost guarantees a stressful experience; nevertheless, this mom braved it and went.
While I was trying to ignore the endless movements and whining coming from the stroller, I decided to let my son hang out in the children’s area while I continued looking around.
Since this particular store wasn’t very big or crowded, I was able to keep my son in my sight as I meandered from aisle to aisle. However, there was this one particular moment when my son wandered away from my sight.
Next thing I know, my son was calling me from across the store, “Mommy, where are you? Where are you, mommy?”
I returned his precious voice with, “Can you hear me? Follow my voice, buddy.”
He started walking towards my voice, so we continued communicating across the store until he successfully made his way to me. When he arrived at the stroller, he said, “I couldn’t find you, mom.”
Of course I responded, “I know, hunny. It is important not to wander off, but you did well following my voice.”
Immediately I heard the Spirit speak to me the verse John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
How amazing to have a Father in Heaven who leads us to Himself with His very voice.
Think about that.
Even when we have wandered away from His Presence, ventured out to explore without Him, or even made the decision to do life on our own, our loving Father in Heaven calls us back to Him with His gracious voice.
It is easy to become engrossed in our ways of thinking, doing, and living without realizing how far we have wandered away from God. Do you ever feel like one minute you are walking joyfully with God, and the next minute He is nowhere to be found? I sure have, and it takes me a while to figure out where I am and where He is and how we got to be so far apart.
When my son couldn’t find me, it wasn’t because I moved locations. It was because he did. He knew he would be able to see me and hear me if he stayed in the children’s area; he knew that. But, something else had caught his attention across the store, and he left. He left what he knew, to explore what he didn’t.
When we walk with God, we can’t expect Him to stay in the same location all the time like that. If you discovered Jesus at a coffee shop because someone on a mission decided to share the Gospel with you, you aren’t going to keep going back to the coffee shop to find Jesus. You could, but more than likely He has positioned Himself in a new location that will not only increase your wisdom of Him, but increase His own glory.
In other words, whether we decide to wander off from His presence on our own, or we decide to stay behind while He continues moving, the result is the same—we get separated from Him and miss out on the opportunities and blessings He has been preparing for us since the beginning of time.
It is in those moments when John 10:27 becomes pivotal in reflecting on our relationship with God.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
If we were to find ourselves wandering from God, would we recognize His voice when He called for us? Would we be able to follow it back to His Presence? Make no mistake, when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and Redeemer, the Spirit of God lives in you. But, that still doesn’t guarantee that you will recognize His voice when He calls for you.
To know His voice means you must spend time with Him; learning His sound, reading His Word, trusting His leadership, and following His movements. When we know His Voice, we will follow it. When we follow it, we position ourselves to be in harmony with the perfect Will of God. And I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better place to be.
(For incredible resources and references on how to better hear God’s voice on your own, I highly recommend Listening Prayer University: listeningprayer.teachable.com. I know Pastor Tim personally as he is the one who graciously mentored my husband and me to hear the Lord’s voice in an even greater measure.)