By Katy Mariotti

The Shepherd’s Voice

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking on this SoundCloud link.

“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.”
John 10:2-4 English Standard Version

I love this time of year, the week between Christmas and New Year’s. A no-man’s land where no one knows what day it is, you can sit around or go do something that sounds nice, whatever you feel like! It’s the first time during the holiday season where I truly feel a sense of rest. Nothing absolutely HAS to be done, and I can spend a lot of time with family.

My mother-in-law shared with us recently something from a book she is reading, about how we should pray to God, but then after we pray, we should listen for a response. This was a little mind-blowing for me, and I realized that when I pray, and ESPECIALLY when I really want something, I get so busy desperately pleading that I forget to actually listen to what God has to say. The chapter in John says that the sheep know the shepherd’s voice. And where do we hear His voice? We hear it in His Word, and hear it in church, and when we spend time knowing His voice, we see it all around us.

Before Christmas my sister took us to an amazing ice sculpture display that was themed on The Polar Express. It was amazing and beautiful, and then at the end after the Polar Express was done, we entered this room where there was a full-sized Nativity carved out of ice. There was God in this lovely still moment. Scripture says:

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!”
Psalm 37:7 ESV    

I pray for you and for me during this week of rest that we have some time to be still, to wait, and to listen for the Shepherd’s voice.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado