Whose Voice Do You Hear?

I loved this time of year on the farm. The grass was green and the purple iris were blooming along the driveway . Baby lambs had turned into show lamb weight, after being weighing in several months ago. And now the hard work of 4-Hers and FFA members kicks into high gear:The exercising. The precise feeding (down to teaspoons full).and fresh water. The washing and drying. The shearing.  The constant attack against ringworm and fungus. The daily cleaning of pens. Then do it again tomorrow and tomorrow...

It always amazed me how the lambs would respond to their shepherd. If I was left to feed the sheep in John's (rare) absence, they looked at me with suspicious eyes. They backed up in the far corner of the pen. That gave me enough time to begin filling the feeding trough, just ahead of the sheep stampede for food. Hunger definitely takes precedence over fear.

"The sheep listen to the sheperd's voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, He goes on ahead of them. and his sheep follow him because they know his voice," (John 10:3b-4 NIV).

Somewhere this week an article asked, "Whose voice do you listen to?" I pondered the time I spend scrolling on Facebook. What amount of time do I listen to Christian music? What amount of time do I spend in prayer, Bible-reading, Bible-study, just listening to God? Not enough.

Dear God, our Holy One: we lift our voices to give You our praise and glory! Thank You for being the voice we want to hear. Block out the clutter and noise and speak to us, we pray. We listen in the name of Jesus. Amen.