By walk I mean journey and the method of that journey. I'm reminded of a scene from Mary Poppin's where she describes individual laughs, everyone having their own. If you've never seen Mary Poppin's I encourage you to take a two hour break for this life lesson of a movie. I guarantee you'll relate to the laughing scene to which I'm referring.
My walk may be a stumbling, tumbling, toe bumping, knee skinning walk. Yours may be a graceful glide with a few wobbles. And your friends maybe graceful then clumsy then careful then careless, taking every unimaginable detour along the way. Everyone's is their own.
When I was a small child I heard the voice of the Lord and I felt His presence. Sometimes it was clear as day and other times I knew he was there but maybe felt like he was across the room and not as close as I'd have liked him to be.
Today I look back and I can distinctly remember this feeling. I know I didn't imagine it, but I wonder why it's not as seemingly accessible as it once was.
While I was gathering materials for my son's second semester in his high school sophomore year, I found a bible study I'd once started and never completed.
I love bible studies. They help remind me of God's Word and His love and the place He's preparing for me in eternity.
After I finished putting together the supplies for my son I decided I'd sit down and pick up where I'd left off in that bible study. The study is call I AM by Lysa Terkeurst.
In the chapter where I'd left off and was now beginning, there very first thing I read was the title, Sheep Gate.
Without getting into the specifics of this chapters title, let me just say that the title was the answer I'd longed for but hadn't realized it.
Biblically speaking, a sheep gate created a place of safety and only the shepherd of the sheep would be the gate. The shepherd would create a barrier between harm and safety for their sheep. So long as the sheep stayed with their shepherd they would be safe. Only when the sheep would wander would they be subject to harm and even death.
And to exemplify this relationship between the shepherd and the sheep, the sheep knew the voice of their shepherd. If any other voice called out to them they wouldn't respond. They knew only their shepherds voice.
Just as we know the voice of the Lord, our shepherd. Jesus is our shepherd.
If we know His voice our walk, no matter how graceful or chaotic, we can be assured we will hear as He leads us. We can rest assured that His voice will call out to His flock, and each individual sheep, you and I and everyone who believes He is the I AM, and we will hear Him and know where to follow.
I take great comfort in knowing that while I feel as though the Lord may be more than an arms length away, when He calls out to me I will hear Him and know His voice. I will follow His voice wherever it may lead me even if I stumbled and stub my toe along the way.
John 10:7 & 9 Therefore Jesus said again, Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
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