Embracing your Sunset in the Unknown Places....

Voice it tells us most everything about human interaction. Tone tells a lot about a person's Mood, and intentions.      The voice carries both power and timidity. It screams rage or echoes calm in chaos.  It is the name of a popular TV show.       It lets children know when they are in trouble.  Voice is one of the quickest ways to misread a situation or damage relationships.  It is the giveaway to a joyous event.  It is the key to my independent living in many ways with Technology like Amazon Echo, and Dragon software.
It is my mom's voice and laughs I knew early on I was going to miss the most because it had the ability so often to calm the crazy around us.     There was a lot of ways which we were different, she could bring calm to so many things with her demeanor, and she rarely ever sweated the small stuff in life.   If she was aggravated there was not much hiding it from those closest to her, but it was a rare occurrence to see her truly angry often.  If she was you knew you should back up, because you were going to get an earful if you were not wise enough to watch the look and the eyebrow raise.
My closest friends always know whether it a good day or not so good by the flatness or quivering in my voice.
There are many voices we hear throughout our day.  The sound of a loved yelling from the top of the stairs.  The sound of a child crying.  Some voices we easily recognize, others are harder to distinguish.  If I hear Michael W. Smith, usually by the first or second lyric at most I know it is him.

Recently, I  found myself in a situation where I was hearing a lot of voices around me, including my own.  Some of the voices I heard were encouraging and constructive others more confusing.  We have an enemy who distorts lies to sound like the truth. Who makes sincere concern sound like condemnation. God kept putting the truth of  John 10:3 before me.But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.3 To him, the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.find here

English Standard Version (ESV)

It isn't always convenient to listen to the Good Shepherd.  It isn't always guaranteed a smooth path.  In fact, it might be anything but smooth.  It might be risky and unfamiliar.  Chances are there will be obstacles  There will be unknowns and uncertainty, but where Jesus leads by his voice He provides.  How do we find the beautiful sunsets God has for us in the unpredictable in our lives?  I am still learning, but here are some truths I know.  Jesus the Shepherd is good.  

1. To hear the shepherd's voice, prayer a two-way conversation is vital.  Col. 4:2

2. To hear The Shepherd's voice, you have to value his above your own. Matthew 6:10

3. Sometimes you have to risk rejection and failure, still trusting God to lead you  Mathew 14, John 13.

4.      You have to seek God above approval of yourself and others. Gal. 1:10 Matthew 6:33  My hardest one.

5.You have to obey his voice, even if it makes you appear foolish.  Daniel 3:18.  

  6. God honors and blesses those who sincerely seek him, and He offers grace in Jesus.  Hebrews 11:6   

7.  Jesus knows his own by name, and they know and aware when He speaks.  John 10:3.  

He is the voice above all others, and He can always be trusted as the Faithful Good Shepherd!  Who is the voice is guiding me and who is the voice is guiding you?  Do we know him well enough, that where He leads, we know where and how to follow, hour by hour?  I don't know about you, but I want to discern his voice, even when it is hard, and costs me my pride or my _?  Even when we are in unknown places, we are still known by an ALL-KNOWING God!