Knowing His Voice

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27

This photo was taken this past week when I was visiting my family in Washington State for Thanksgiving holiday. My parents are blessed to live and retire on Whidbey Island. I was stuffed of Thanksgiving goodness and felt that a nice northwest walk could do me some good and also all the plane travel did my back and joints in. I love to walk, I love nature and I feel God speaks to me so much clearer and louder when I am alone in his beauty and the quietness of his creations. 

I was hanging out with the family and still thinking about that nice brisk walk I was planning to take when my husband charges in the house from being out. He was taking photos and said to me in a mandatory voice, "Vicki, quick grab your cell phone and come now!" I know him all too well, I have learned to trust him when he says things like this so I don't ask questions I just go! He starts barreling down the street my parent's live on in the rental like there is no speed limit and we cut the corner to the right pretty sharp. We turn right and since we are at the top of the hill just about 1 mile up from this part of the Island's beach inlet we are welcomed with this glorious sight-a rainbow! This was not just a normal rainbow sighting that you have seen here and there in your life but a magnificent show of God's promise. One side of the full rainbow was floating on the water, the other side was clear over to the farm/prairie and the light from the sun was so bright that it allowed this to cast the most amazing sight I have seen in a while! We raced down to the water's shoreline there and my husband steps out to do more photography and I caught this picture of the almost translucent grassy plains and the rainbow with my husband standing there viewing the sound. My Lord spoke to me and I heard his voice. I heard the Lord tell me the verse that I wrote on the top of this post. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." from John 10:27. 

So many people hear Believers (Christians) say this many times, and I have too. I am referring to when you hear people say, "God told me, He spoke to me about this or that." There is a reason for this. In the bible Jesus is referred to as a Shepard. Parables are written in God's word as we are the sheep and he is our Shepard. Sheep by themselves are very ignorant and have small brains. Unfortunately, sheep are known to be notoriously dumb. Sheep are known to eat themselves sick if they remain in one spot too long. They don't foresee danger, they mindlessly follow the sheep ahead of them, which makes them extremely vulnerable to harm. Sheep are stubborn. Knowing these sheep facts can help us understand why the bible is full of descriptions and comparisons of people like sheep. Sheep need a Shepard to survive. We need a Shepard of our souls to survive. Sheep get to know their Shepard's voice and know and come to understand the commands the Shepard gives them and they listen because it is all they know. We cannot know our Lord and savior Jesus Christ without knowing his voice and understanding what he is saying to us. We can get to know his voice and it becomes familiar to us when he speaks to us the more we learn from his word, which is the word of God, the bible. 

So, you may ask me 'why did you feel God was speaking to you when you saw the view of the rainbow and the water and the gorgeous scene? Well, that is because God's word (that scripture) I knew and have known it since I first started reading the bible. I have this and many verses in my heart and God speaks to each believer the more we spend time in his holy word. Also think of a new born baby and his/her relationship with his mother and father. A baby is just born one day and is fully and completely dependent on who is there to raise him/her. Once the mother and father begin to speak to the baby that baby begins to reccognize the parents voices and the trust and admiration and love begins. This is just how God intended us to feel towards him. 

In the bible there is a parable that is so great about this same theme of Christ (our Shepard) and how much he loves us (his sheep) “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.