Obeying His Voice
“My sheep respond to my voice, and I know who they are. They follow [obey] me”
Devotional:
Growing up in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, in the mountains of Rio Cañas Arriba, I learned a valuable principle about obeying the voice of God. My grandparents had a small animal stall in the backyard of our home, and we owned geese, chickens, some rabbits, a dog, a cat, two horses, and a pair of turkeys.
Every morning my grandfather would go up to feed the animals the leftover food and ensure that every animal was adequately fed and healthy. However, I noticed that every morning before my grandfather went up to feed the animals, he would whistle very loudly (similar to a referee). I always found this odd. If he didn’t whistle, he would call out, “pi, pi, pi, pi, pi, pi, pi, piiiii.” To me, this was even odder than the early morning whistle. Until one day, I asked him why he would do that. He said, “if I don’t call them, they won’t come out of their little homes to come and eat.” The next day, I woke up earlier than he did, and I whistled and called out, but none of the animals came to meet me. The moment they heard the sounds of my grandfather, they all came rushing out. He asked me if I tried calling them, to which he responded positively, but he said something that today makes even more sense, “you can try and replicate my sounds, but they will only obey my voice.”
We are constantly struggling to find a voice to obey (our minds, the Lord, or the enemy). We have even separated time to quiet down the world to hear the voice of God. This is admirable. However, we miss the big picture when we don’t obey the voice of God. Seeing if you can hear God’s voice is a fantastic achievement, but the achievement falls flat if we cannot follow God’s words. Just like I did with my grandfather’s animals (I tried to trick them into coming out), the enemy and our thoughts are trying to convince us that they are God’s voice, but they are not. The voice of God is clear, precise, and peace provoking, which will cause you to follow it and come out. My grandfather’s voice produced that in them. Imagine what God’s voice would create in us if we listened to it and obeyed it. Take the time today and ask the Holy Spirit to help you hear and discern God’s voice and teach you to obey it. You won’t regret it.
Let’s Pray:
Father, I pray that today you continue to teach me to hear your voice but, most importantly, to obey it. What you say, I will do with your guidance and help. In Jesus’ name, amen!
