Sheep have good peripheral vision, but poor vision directly in front of them. Because their eyes are on the sides of their heads, they can see very well around them, but not very well in front of them. This is why they tend to let themselves be guided by the voice of their shepherd— who takes care of them and guides them continuously.
Have you ever answered the phone and recognized who is speaking to you only by the sound of their voice? If we want to follow Jesus, we must learn to know his voice and be guided by him—even in the midst of the lack of clarity on what lies ahead.
On one occasion, Jesus said to a group of Jews who were questioning him:
“I already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name, but you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:25-27)
Our intimacy and trust in the Lord must reach that level where we recognize his voice; therefore, we listen to it and obey it. Spiritually, we may be like sheep, which is why the Lord used this metaphor. We are really good at seeing what’s happening around us, but it’s difficult for us to be able to see and discern the path right in front of us. Thank God that we have the voice of the Lord to help us with that. He is the good shepherd who guides us through green pastures and leads us to our safe place.
Just as it happened to Thomas when he saw resurrected Jesus, there are times when the miracle is right in front of us, but we cannot see or believe. If it is not under our own conditions, we do not want to believe.
Thomas said, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, stick my fingers in them, and put my hand inside the wound in his side.” (John 20:25)
Unless it is our way, we will not believe.
Unless it’s a certain way…
Unless I get this…
Unless I can do this…
Unless (insert your conditions here)…
We give the Lord our own terms and conditions in order to believe. However, our conditions only reveal to Jesus our lack of faith in Him. Jesus said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and look at my hands; put your hand in the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless anymore. Believe!”. (John 22:26)
We can be faithful to the Lord like Thomas—who was even willing to die with Jesus on his mission (John 11:16)—and still struggle with a lack of faith at times. Thomas’s moment of doubt was a very vulnerable one, as the disciples were grieving and dealing with the uncertainty of the Lord’s absence after his death.
In our vulnerable moments, when we cannot see, we should sharpen our hearing so that we can discern the voice of the Lord that guides us. That is the kind of relationship that He desires with us—that being known by Him, we can be guided by His voice. Let us pray to the Lord that we may increase our trust and our unconditional faith in Him, as we listen to His voice.
