Voice Recognition
If you have ever attended a Women of Faith Conference you know that there are thousands of women that converge in one place for two days of singing, laughter, tears, fellowship and teaching. Our church decided that instead of having a separate retreat, we would join the other women from Colorado and the region at the Pepsi Center in Denver. After investigating the best prices for the tickets and the seating arrangements it was determined that we needed to be part of a “group.” Since we didn’t want to have to purchase 50 tickets, we decided to join with a group in Denver who had extra tickets. Kris Clay, whom I met briefly on one occasion, was my contact for the six months prior to the conference as our group leader.
On the first day of the conference we arrived early anticipating the huge onslaught of women who would be picking up their tickets. In line with hundreds of other women who had the same mission I began to wonder how I would ever find Kris. Would I even recognize her since it had been 6 months from the time of our brief original meeting?
As our ladies began gathering together, I paced the line to see if I could spot her, but didn’t notice her in the sea of people. Returning to my group, I tried to call her cell phone, but there was no answer from Kris. Hum…what was I going to do; I was responsible for 20+ women and their entrance to the Women of Faith event?
Just as I rejoined the group, I overheard a familiar voice. Out of 8,000 women, I was able to discern the voice of Kris Clay from our telephone conversations. I twirled around and was face to face with our group leader who had the tickets in hand. When I called out her name, she was surprised, but happy to have connected so easily.
I identified Kris by her voice, just as believers recognize the voice of their Shepherd. Since I had heard Kris’s voice multiple times before via phone conversations, it was easy to distinguish it when in the crowded space. People who know their Shepherd also begin to recognize when He is speaking and can discern where He is leading them. Do you know the Shepherd well enough to hear when He calls your name and leads you? If not what will you do about it?
John 10:3-4 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
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