Whose Voice Do You Know?

I had the opportunity this past Thursday night to help out with the harvest at the Binford farm and one of the ways the various employees communicate with each other is through the use of two way radios. The thing about two radios of course is that when one person speaks to another, everyone else can hear the conversation. Well, I was driving one of the trucks when I heard the voice of a little girl come across the two way radio and all she said was “Dad.” There was about a five second pause, and then the little voice spoke again, and again all she said was, “Dad.” And then a few seconds later, Eric responded by saying “Yes Kierra.”  And then Kierra went on to tell her dad that she had caught a rabbit.
That simple and brief conversation so blessed my heart, because first of all, I know of several dads who have young ones that were listening to the radio, and yet none of them responded to the call, Eric was the only one who responded to Kierra’s voice.
Secondly, the conversation blessed my heart because it reminded me of Jesus’ teaching in John 10:14-15 and 27. “I am the good shepherd and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” Isn’t it a great joy to know that the Father knows your name? There are over 6 billion people on earth and yet when you call out, “Dad,” he knows your name. The thought of that is so powerful for me I can hardly get my mind around it.
As I further reflected on the brief conversation between Eric and Kierra, I thought of some of my recent conversations with God about some of the things that excited me. Little things like “Dad, there was over fifty of your children in the intergenerational Sunday school class today.” “Dad, we were able to give 65 of your kids a Bible today.” “Dad, thanks for the precious time with Rilyn today, it was so precious to watch her explore in your creation.” It truly is such a blessing to know that when we call the Father he hears us.
On the other hand, I also began thinking about the opposite, do I always recognize when the Father speaks to me? Have I been spending enough time with the Father to know the difference between his voice and the voice of the thief? Am I the one who is doing all the talking, or do I intentionally seek to hear from him as well?
As Jesus said in John 10:3-5, “… his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
May it be said of us that we are growing in our intimacy with the Father, and especially recognizing when God speaks to us. And therefore may we also be growing in understanding of the great joy of being one of God’s kids.

Under his mercy, Mike

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