Message from AlisonI wonder whether you have ever had the experience of being in a crowded room and unexpectedly hearing a familiar voiceA few years ago, I was in a large gathering of people in Sydney when, suddenly, to my great surprise and delight, I heard the familiar voice of a friend from my church in London – someone that I had not expected to hear or see in Sydney.And it was her voice, rather than her face, that I first recognised. We recognise the voices of the people we love, and we seem to have the ability to pick out a voice that we know from a hubbub of others. Jesus said that just as sheep in New Testament times knew and listened to the voice of their shepherd, so his followers would know and listen to his voice – even in the midst of the many others competing voices that call for attention. (John 10.25-28) It would be a mark of his disciples that they would know and be able to pick out his voice. Many of us have had the experience at different times of hearing God speak to us, and yet we can also ask the question, ‘How do I hear God’s voice more regularly?’ ‘Does God really want to communicate with me?’ The simple answer is ‘Yes, definitely.’ Jesus may speak to us through his Word, the Bible, through which he has chosen to reveal himself – although. Of course, that means we need to be reading it regularlyThere are many Bible reading notes which will help us to do just that.He speaks to us through the witness of his Holy Spirit on our spirits, gently guiding us and prompting us with his plans and purposes for us.He may speak to us through the wise advice of good friendsHe may speak to us in the quietness of our own prayer times at home, or he may speak to us through a message that we hear at church or through reading a Christian book or a TV or radio programme.An ever-deepening conviction and awareness that this or that is what I ‘ought to do’ may come to us.It is one of the ways that the Holy Spirit communicates with us God really does want to communicate with us, and we really can hear his voice. But in order to hear, we have to listen and to tune in. We all know that we can hear someone’s voice without really listening and taking in what they are saying – has anyone ever said to you indignantly ‘What did I just say?’ You may have heard them, but you’ve not listened to them. Hearing God’s voice means that first of all we wait and give time and listen attentively for his word to us, and secondly that we respond to his voice. We pay attention, we don’t allow other voices to drown his voice out, and we start to move in his direction. We act on what he says to us. As we do that, we begin to know in reality, and not just in theory, the depth of the Good Shepherd’s love and care for us. We find out that he really does call us by name and know us intimately, and we begin to know and to trust him afresh with our lives and futures. So, as activities pause, and as we slow down a little during this summer holiday time, let’s make sure we give time to listen to our Shepherds’ voice. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. |