Voices

"I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber! But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice."
~ John 10:1-5

Shepherding hasn't changed much in 4,000 years. Multiple flocks are still kept in "sheepfolds" at night to protect against predators. A sheepfold is an enclosure made with rocks, or maybe even a cave with only one way in or out. That gate is kept by a porter, or gatekeeper.

Each morning, when it's time to lead the sheep to pasture, the shepherd comes to the gate and calls to his sheep. His sheep know his voice. That is the only voice they will respond to. They will not follow another shepherd. They don't know his voice.

Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. The meaning is clear. His sheep know His voice. They follow Him.
But what happens when the sheep can't hear the voice of the shepherd? What happens when there are too many other voices calling to the sheep, competing for their attention? Or when all the noise around the sheep drowns out the shepherd's call?

There seem to be so many other voices screaming at us today; so much noise going on all around us that I fear we miss the voice of the Shepherd as He calls us to follow Him. The danger is especially real in a nation where the constant media barrage is unrelenting, and in a season where politicians keep up their incessant chattering day and night.

With all of the noise in our lives today, how long has it been since you heard the Good Shepherd call you by name? How long since you cut through all of the noise, and all of the various voices calling to you?
His desire is to make you "lie down in green pastures, and lead you beside still waters." Isn't that just what we need?