Listening....

I love the passage in John 10 about the Good Shepherd... I especially love verse 28... "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." What an awesome promise! No one can snatch you out of His hand... your salvation is secure... you are secure... but as I was reading this familiar passage this morning, something else popped out at me.

As I often do, I was reading several versions of the Bible.... comparing the language of each. (I highly recommend doing this... you often see something in a new light when doing so.) The Amplified version of verse 27 grabbed my attention... "The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice".... other versions say the sheep hear my voice, the sheep listen to my voice, that may not seem much different but there is something about the Amplified that struck a chord with me. "hear and are listening".. are listening... that sounds like a continual act to me... and a choice.

There is a lot of noise in the world... a lot of sounds going on... we have music playing from all directions, different people talking to us in person and on phones, the television, and so much more.. all clamoring for our attention. And we listen... maybe not to all of it, but we listen to what we think is important or what we want to hear.

So where does God fit in? Do you recognize His voice? How long has it been since you heard it? He is speaking.... throughout John 10 Jesus says the sheep hear His voice.. they know it... we couldn't know His voice if He wasn't speaking.

But what about those times He seems silent? I wonder if it isn't that He isn't speaking.... it's that we aren't listening or we have forgotten what He sounds like.

So what is the lesson I learned in all this? I need to actively make a choice to listen for and to His voice. Not just for a set time each morning or when I pray and want an answer right now! I need to choose to be an "are listening" believer... that means I will actively listen for the Good Shepherd's voice all the time and I will listen when I hear Him speak.

I often ask the Lord to open the eyes of my heart (hence the name of this blog), but now I will add open the ears of my heart too.

Barb