Sheep listen to the Shepherd’s voice - 9 October 2023

Each of us is on an individual walk with God; we hear his voice and follow him. At least, that is how it is supposed to be. The problem arises when there is a distortion of the message and we err as a result.

I used to berate myself for not hearing God properly because that crafty devil is also whispering messages. Sometimes, I get it wrong and feel like such a failure when I have erred based on something I had thought God had revealed to me. Most of the time, poor outcomes could have been avoided had I simply consulted and relied upon the Bible, his ultimate message.

Fortunately, the prophets of old had a 100 per cent track record. True prophets never got the message from the mouth of the Lord wrong or heard incorrectly. In Jeremiah 23:16 the Lord warns us against lying prophets. “This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.”

Our job is to listen to the Word of God. His commandments and words recorded for us by the prophets and apostles of old are still true for us today. They have been given without error and yes, sometimes, we can apply them erroneously, but our Good Shepherd is right there to help us on our way as long as we follow him, which is the core tenet of what it means to be a disciple.

Although, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the devil will always be there, all too willing to trip us up. That is the nature of the game. He has been practicing his wiles for millennia. He knows our weaknesses, tendencies and fears. He will always try to tear us away from our Shepherd and his Word in order to have his evil way.

Yet, often in those very times, we doubt God’s goodness and mercy. Could it be that we do not read the Bible often enough and do not really understand the heart and character of God? Is that the reason that we sometimes allow all those other voices and lies to influence us? The good news is that it is not too late for us to gain deeper understanding of the Word; we can start today.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for giving us your unerring Word that keeps us on the straight and narrow. We praise you that there is grace for those times when we do not hear your Word or interpret it properly. Amen