Before I dated my husband, Dan, I told a friend of my interest in him. Her response was, “Nice voice!” That made me smile. As a singer and speaker, Dan definitely has a great voice and I have to say I have come to know and love that voice.
In John 10, there is an interesting passage about the voice of the Shepherd versus the voice of the stranger.
To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. John 10:3-5
While Dan and I were dating, my sister Cathy came up for a visit. One day Dan called. It was in the days of landlines and as I was in another room, Cathy answered my phone with a cheerful hello. Cathy and I sound so much alike that Dan thought it was me. She just kept the conversation going as if she were me… at least for a few minutes. We still laugh about that today! But at the time he still did not know me well enough to discern if it was me or my sister.
The unbelieving cannot discern the voice of God. And sadly sometimes even a wandering sheep strays far from the voice of the loving Shepherd. (Isaiah 53:6, Psalm 95:7-8)
We are reminded again in John about the voice of the Shepherd:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: John 10:27
And then we have this wonderful promise from our Good Shepherd:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:28
What a wonderful promise! But do we completely grasp the awesomeness of this truth?
While dating many couples will experience a hurt that will leave one or the other wondering where they stand in the relationship. Dating can be that way. Eventually, the couple may work it out, thoroughly talk it through and then move forward with a relationship that leads to a beautiful wedding and a happy marriage.
But I have found that hurts from the past can trigger deep insecurity when we face a similar scenario later on. Even after the promise of forever is made.
We humans have a tendency to listen to the voice of hurt and then filter everything through that hurt.
After Dan and I got married and while adjusting and blending two families, I had found myself responding to a trigger from a past hurt early in our dating relationship rather than responding to the voice of Dan’s promise of love and commitment.
I knew I needed to find healing and move past my hurt. In other words, I needed to heal so I could hear what was being said without the filter of my wound.
As a Christian if we are constantly reliving past hurts, it will put a filter on the truth and make it difficult for us to comprehend what is actually being said.
Our wounds can keep us from realizing what we have and who we are in Christ Jesus.
John 10:28 is an amazing promise for the child of God. Let us be reminded where we stand in Christ for all of eternity. We shall never, no never, lose with Jesus.
Loser Bible Study Series Theme Verse:
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. Mark 8:35
“Lose” from the Greek word “Apollymi” means “to destroy fully.” It is translated shall in John 10:28, our verse for today.
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