The good shepherd - Laura Duke

At Kids church on Sunday, we were learning about how Jesus is the Good Shepherd, that he knows his sheep and that the sheep listen to his voice (John 10:1-10). We had fun playing a game where the kids partnered up; one child was the 'sheep' and the other was the 'shepherd'. The sheep had to listen out for their shepherd's voice and follow their instructions. One member of the kids church didn't achieve so much success with this activity because she had become so distracted with the basketballs she was facing and completely forgot to be listening out for the voice of her shepherd. I couldn't have planned it any better if I'd tried - this was the perfect illustration for the children (and for us today!).
How often do we get so distracted by the wonderful/awful/extraordinary world around us that we simply forget to listen out for the voice of our Good Shepherd? How often are we 'facing the wrong way' in our hearts?
Just as the children discussed, we need to learn to recognise the voice of our Shepherd so well that we can hear it and understand it despite the bells and whistles of our lives. We can practice tuning out the world to focus on on our Shepherd. We can learn about what's in His heart and what types of things he says by reading His Word regularly.
This is a message I need to be reminded of regularly - to make sure I am listening for the guiding voice of the Good Shepherd.
Lord, thank you that you speak to us. Thank you that you want to guide us and direct our paths, to lead us by still waters and to comfort us in the dark places (Ps 23). Help us to remember to listen out for your voice. Help us to not become so distracted by the world around us that we don't even notice you calling our name. May we continually learning about what your guidance feels like, sounds like and looks like in our lives that we may recognise it quickly and respond.
We are sorry for the many countless times we do not hear you because we are distracted. Thank you that you are always there, waiting for us, calling to us, ready to guide us. Thank you for being our Good Shepherd. Amen.