As I write this post, I am sitting on my screened in porch listening to the following:
- A fan blowing to keep me cool from the sweltering heat and humidity.
- A man mowing grass off in the distance.
- Birds chirping away at each other.
- A dog barking at someone.
- Cars driving by.
- Worship music playing from my phone.
Even with all the different sounds surrounding me, right now, my ears are tuned to the fan blowing above the other sounds. It is interesting how with all the different noises we hear in each moment throughout the day, we can tune our ears to one single sound over the others if we choose. As with natural noises or voices we hear each day, in our journey as Christ followers, we have the choice to tune our spiritual ears to listen to the Lord above all others. What does Scripture say on listening to the Lord’s voice? During my prayer time, the Holy Spirit brought to my mind John 10:1-3. Jesus said,
“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
Jesus begins in verse one revealing who He will be talking to in the following verses, which is the Pharisees. Who are the Pharisees? On the Blue Letter Bible website, it says, “The Pharisees were the religious conservatives… [they] were Jesus’ chief persecutors. They rejected His claims to be the Messiah and were the ones who plotted to have Him killed.” Though Jesus is talking to the Pharisees, He is talking about those who follow Him: His disciples. When reading these verses, verse 3 stood out to break down and share with you, reader.
- Verse 3b “[T]he sheep listen to his voice.”
1. The Lord’s voice should never be the voice in the background while we focus on other voices such as the Enemy, the world, our flesh, etc. Our spiritual ears must be ready to listen to His voice.
- Verse 3c “He calls his own sheep by name.”
2. Jesus’ relationship with His followers is one of intimacy not formality. He wants to know us personally.
- Verse 3d “and [He] leads them out.”
3. The Lord does not call us only to then leave us to do what He is calling us to do on our own. He leads, guides and
walks with us wherever He leads us.
When the Lord led me to write this post, little did I know, on the same day, I would be faced with a decision and need to tune my spiritual ears to the Lord for His leading. For context, in 2022, the Lord began stirring within me a new desire to be a preschool director one day. At the time, I thought it was far-fetched, for I had quite literally begun preschool teaching that school year. In the time since, the desire is still there, and with it waiting for direction on what step to take next to move closer to the Lord fulfilling this preschool director desire.
The decision before me was one path which had professional development that would perhaps lead me to preschool director one day and the other had been training ground the Lord used in a different way to prepare me to be preschool director one day. Both paths were good, which is maybe why the anxiousness started to creep in, and I did not know which path the Lord wanted me to take. The Lord reminded me of what He taught me about anxiousness, which I mentioned in my “Do not Be Anxious” post last month, and I pondered John 10:3.
Through this experience, it was a reminder of as long as we are on this earth, we should be in constant progression in learning how to listen to the Lord’s voice. Should, but the reality is not all believers pursue this. Let it not be so of you, reader. How do we grow in tuning our spiritual ears to listen to the Lord’s voice in our wait journeys?
- Seek the Lord in His Word and meditate on it day and night.
- Seek the Lord in prayer (verbal and/or written).
- Praise and worship the Lord (do not only listen to the songs, but lift your voice in worship, too).
- Be patient. Sometimes, the Lord will have you wait for His answer.
- Pursue wise counsel from believers the Holy Spirit speaks through to you.
When it came to the decision I needed to make, I took the steps above and made the decision which was best in this chapter of my life. My prayer for you is in your journey of waiting whether it be waiting on the man God deems worthy of your heart, waiting to marry the man He deems worthy of your heart, waiting for direction in your career, or something else you are waiting on the Lord for, know the Lord wants to lead you in the waiting and through the waiting. He will reveal the step you need to take in His time. Wait and listen to His voice.
All Bible verses are from Holy Bible: New International Version