We are His Sheep: The Voice of a Stranger

We are His Sheep: The Voice of a Stranger

John 10:1-13

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."

We encounter in this life so many people, situations, pleasures, and troubles that far too often become like shepherds to us. They become that dominant voices in our minds that lead us and tell us where to go and what to do. It could be an addiction or an abusive partner. Either way, they speak to us. 

We do not intentionally make them the shepherds of our lives but oftentimes merely because they speak the loudest or the most often, they take on that role devastating our self-worth and reasons for living. 

So often in my own life, when I've been tempted to sin, using pornography in particular, the sin itself has always been the loudest, most present thought in my mind. It speaks in a shrill voice that refuses to let up; a voice that tells me that I belong to it and have no means of escape. I am the little helpless sheep to this destructive Shepard whose voice is most unpleasant and strange to me. That's because it is the voice of a stranger.

The most terrible part about this voice is that it makes you believe that it will care for you and keep you safe like the true Shepard, but in reality, it is merely a hired hand that will, "run away because it cares nothing for the sheep." However, there is a Shepard, a true Shepard who does care and is willing to lay down His life for His sheep.

A therapist once told me. "Michael you have good instincts, you just have to listen to them. God gave them to you for a reason." If you are well versed in your faith as a Christian, you can detect in your soul whether a voice is the voice of the true familiar Shepard, or the voice of the lying strange hired hand. The voice of Truth, Love, Mercy, and Compassion can only belong to the Lord, the Good Shepard. 

Though the voice of a stranger may make you believe that you belong to it and that you can never be free from it, you need only calm your mind and listen through Faith to find the voice of the Shepard to whom you truly belong for we belong ONLY to Him. We are His Sheep!

Prayer

Our Good Shepard, we adore You and we praise You. May we love You above all things just as You have loved us. Please help us to learn how to listen so that we can detect the voices of strangers and then remove them from our minds never allowing them to have room in the deepest parts of our hearts. Our hearts were made not for them but for You. We are Your sheep!