Hearing the voice of God – even on the job
“I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep, and my sheep know me…My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:14,27).
Tom Fox is a successful financial investment manager who leads a workplace ministry in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area. He was troubled when he heard Christians say, “God told me…” He had certainly never heard God speak to him that way. “What’s the difference between those people and me?” He was amazed. Tom had read in the Book of John that Jesus said that his sheep heard his voice, but he did not understand how they could do so. His search for an answer to that question led to a search for how to hear the voice of God himself.
Today, Tom realizes that God speaks and we, as his children, can hear his voice. He has learned how to hear God’s words of guidance in his daily life, including the day-to-day activities of his business, and he is teaching others how to hear God’s voice.
A friend of mine told me a story about his experience in Israel that illustrates how sheep know the voice of their shepherd. He and his wife were visiting some famous Biblical sites when they saw a group of shepherds and their flocks. He noticed that three different shepherds had kept their sheep in the same pen for the night, and he wondered how the shepherds would separate their sheep the next day, since none of them had any identifying marks.
My friend woke up early the next morning and watched the shepherds gather their sheep. The first shepherd went into the pen and called his sheep. One by one, his sheep (and only his sheep) moved forward to follow him. The same thing happened with the other two shepherds. My friend said it was amazing to see how only the shepherd’s sheep followed him, while the others remained in the pen – and all because they recognized his voice. What a picture of Jesus’ words spoken centuries ago.
Pray for God to help you hear God’s voice – even at work.
