“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” (John 10:3)
Expanded Passage: John 10:1-4
One of my earliest memories is of getting lost in a department store. I let go of my mother’s hand and wandered toward a shelf of snow globes. When I turned around, I realized I was alone, caught between a bright linoleum floor and cold fluorescent lights. The store was like a maze, each shelf towering above my little head, each aisle a long, lonely walk.
But then, nearby, I heard a voice I recognized—my mother’s! She was suddenly close, and she was calling me by name. The feeling of being lost for what seems like hours is a lot like what a sheep feels when it has wandered from its flock. But a familiar voice in an unfamiliar place is exactly what God offers us when we’re lost in the world.
When I heard my mother’s voice, I immediately recognized it from Thanksgiving dinners, from bedtime stories, from the edge of the park when I was getting a little too confident on the monkey bars. But God’s voice can be a little harder to hear sometimes. Fortunately, he gave us the Bible, one of the clearest examples of his voice. Every time we read it, he leads us into closer relationship with him. But if we don’t read the Bible, then how will we recognize his call when we get lost?
Read the Bible to know God’s voice.
Lindsey Priest is an Indiana Wesleyan University graduate. She likes to read to her kids, play video games with her husband, and refurbish furniture.
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
