His Voice

When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers. John 10:4-5

Have you ever been in this situation?   Someone calls (and you don't have caller ID) and starts talking to you, as if you know who he/she is?  And yet you have no idea -- you can't recognize the person by the sound of the voice?   It's happened to me, and I don't want to just say, "Who is this?" because obviously the person believes I know who he or she is.  To admit differently would embarrass either me or the other person.  So I keep listening, hoping to catch some kind of ID clue.

The sheep know his voice.  And yet, do we?  We spend a whole lot of time wondering what God is telling us to do, where he is leading us, if the voices we are hearing are really his or someone else's. 

Do we recognize the Voice of Truth?

I love the idea of it -- that we are so close to our loving God that we recognize his voice.  It's comforting and it feels secure.  And yet, I know how difficult it is to discern his message, and I know how confusing it can be.