April 3 | Bible in a Year: Judges 19-21; Luke 7:31-50

I Hear You, God!

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. John 10:3

READ John 10:1-11, 16

Baby Graham fussed and wiggled as his mother held him in her lap while the doctors inserted his first hearing aid. Moments after the doctor turned on the device, Graham stopped crying. His eyes widened. He grinned. He could hear his mother’s voice comforting him, encouraging him and calling his name.

Baby Graham heard his mother speaking, but he needed help learning how to recognise her voice and understand the meaning of her words. Jesus invites people into a similar learning process. Once we accept Christ as our Saviour, we become the sheep He knows intimately and guides personally (John 10:3). We can grow to trust and obey Him as we practise hearing and heeding His voice (v. 4).

In the Old Testament, God spoke through the prophets. In the New Testament, Jesus—God in the flesh—spoke directly to people. Today, believers in Jesus have access to the power of the Holy Spirit, who helps us understand and obey God’s words which He inspired and preserved in the Bible. We can communicate directly with Jesus through our prayers as He speaks to us through Scripture and through His people. As we come to recognise God’s voice, which is always in alignment with His words in the Bible, we can cry out with grateful praise, “I hear You, God!”

By Xochitl Dixon

How has God used the Scriptures to reveal Himself to you this week? How can you speak His wisdom to others who need comfort or encouragement today?

I hear You, God! Please help me receive and share the truth and love You reveal to me as I read the Bible.

SCRIPTURE INSIGHT

References to God as shepherd, including the well-known Psalm 23, are found throughout the Old Testament. Jacob says God has been “my shepherd all my life” and calls Him “the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel” (Genesis 48:15; 49:24).

In the New Testament, Jesus says He is “the good shepherd [who] lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11), and those who listen and respond to His voice are His sheep (vv. 3-5). In Hebrews 13:20, the author calls Christ the “great Shepherd of the sheep.” Peter refers to Him as “the Shepherd and Overseer of [our] souls” (1 Peter 2:25). As God’s sheep, we’re to listen to our Shepherd and respond in obedience ( John 10:27).