Called by Name.

 

Listening for the Shepherd’s Voice

Known and Led

Scripture Reading: John 10:22–30

“My sheep listen to my voice;

 I know them, and they follow me.” 

John 10:27

In a world filled with notifications, news cycles, podcasts, and competing voices, Jesus suggests that our deepest struggle is not that God is silent, but that we are rarely still enough to listen. Many voices compete for our attention: fear, obligation, opinion, urgency. Yet Jesus says that those who belong to Him are not defined by having the most answers or the sharpest theology, but by recognition. They know His voice. They have learned, often slowly and imperfectly, to discern the tone of grace amid the clamor of other competing claims.

This listening has always been the posture of faith. Augustine, that great African saint of the fifth century, prayed, “Whisper words of truth in my heart, for you alone speak truth.” It is a humble prayer—one that admits how easily our hearts are filled with noise and how deeply we need God’s quiet, faithful speech within us. Trevor Hudson echoes this same hope when he reflects on John 10: “The lovely picture here is of the Good Shepherd going ahead of his flock, calling each sheep by name. The sheep follow because they know his voice… Jesus, who now lives beyond crucifixion, has not stopped speaking. He comes alongside us as our Risen Shepherd and invites us to learn to listen for his voice.” Listening, then, is not a technique but a relationship shaped by trust, familiarity, and love.

And the beauty of this relationship is its unshakable security. Jesus promises that once we are in His hand—and in the Father’s hand—no one can snatch us away. We are not held by the strength of our own grip on God, but by the strength of His grip on us. As we learn to listen and follow, we discover that we are being led not into anxious striving, but into the fullness of life the Shepherd lovingly offers.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, quiet our hearts and whisper Your truth within us. Teach us to recognize the voice of Jesus, our Good Shepherd, and to trust the hands that hold us fast. Lead us today into the life You promise. Amen.