The strongest Christian life will have a deep understanding of the Scriptures, with a devotion to go deeper, as well as knowing the voice of the Lord, with a devotion to know Him better. This is our resolve for this year in our study. If we accomplish these two things, it will be a very successful year.

     As stated previously, we know that there will never be a conflict between God’s written Word and any message or revelation that comes from Him. His Word assures us that He cannot lie and that He never changes. His written Word, the Bible, therefore gives us a trustworthy foundation for judging all prophecy. No prophecy or message from God will ever contradict anything in the Scriptures.

     Western thinking, which is based on vertical logic, often compels us to establish a principle for everything. Sometimes these are good and useful, and sometimes they can be a stumbling block that keeps us from the truth. Certainly some basic principles can help keep us on course to a sound biblical faith and the ability to discern the voice of the Lord, as well as voices that are not His. We will elaborate on these, but we should also know these are not the most important aspects of knowing the truth and knowing His voice. The Truth is a Person, not just facts.

     Think about this: Could I describe a voice to you and you recognize it with much confidence? I would have a hard time putting into words what my wife’s voice sounds like, except using some generalizations. I doubt anyone who has never heard her voice could recognize it this way. However, if she were in a large crowd of people who were all talking, I would know immediately which voice was hers. How? Because I have been with her for so long. Likewise, I think the only way we can really know the voice of the Lord is to have been with Him.

     There are really only two ways by which we recognize others—by their face or by voice. How many people could you recognize by their hands or feet, unless there was some outstanding feature? Again, we recognize others by their face or voice. The Word of God compels us to seek the Lord’s face and to know His voice.

     I have read the Bible many times and have studied in depth how the Lord has spoken to people. However, that is not how I know the voice of the Lord. I do not know it because of an audible tone like I do my wife’s, but I know it by a spiritual tone, which is likewise unique in the universe. However, as the Scriptures teach, there are many different voices in the universe, which are all unique. So how do we distinguish His? Again, we must know Him.

      The Lord could obviously make His voice so outstanding that there is no way others could come close to duplicating it. Therefore, we would always be able to distinguish His voice from others, but He has not done this for our sakes. To know the spiritual tone of the Lord’s voice, we must know His heart and His mind—we must know Him. This is something we grow up into as we grow up into Him. Those who are not true disciples, who are not true seekers, will not be able to distinguish His voice.

      This is also why the Lord did not say that the lambs knew His voice, but that His sheep did. The lambs, the younger ones, need to follow the more mature ones until they too know His voice so well that they can distinguish it from all others.

      I once read an account by a man who was sitting on a hill in the Middle East. He saw three shepherds coming from different directions, bringing their flocks to a watering hole all at the same time. The man thought he was about to see such a mingling of these three flocks that the shepherds would never be able to get them all sorted out. Sure enough, when they arrived at the water all of the flocks intermingled so that no flock could then be distinguished. However, the shepherds did not seem concerned but just stood talking to each other. After the sheep had all been watered, each shepherd took a different path and started singing as he walked. There was a great convulsion within the large massed flock, but then little streams started out after each shepherd until all of the flocks were separated again. Every sheep knew its shepherd’s voice and could distinguish it from all of the others. Why? Because they had been with him for so long, hearing him sing in the pastures. That is how we must know the voice of the Lord and be able to distinguish it from all of the other voices in the world. There is no substitute for just being with Him.

      Our devotion this year will be to sink our roots deeper into the Scriptures, loving His truth enough to seek it. We will also seek to know His voice better by getting closer to Him. If we stay focused on this pursuit, this will be one of the best and most important years of our lives. In the times to come, our lives will likely depend on how well we have pursued these basic disciplines as true disciples.