Grant Batchelder

Dear friends in Christ,

(John 10:1–18)

“The sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

I believe God still speaks to us. But I also think a lot of us have no idea what we are supposed to be listening for.

We read stories in Scripture where God speaks directly to someone, sends a prophet, or communicates through a dream. Then we are told to listen for God in our own lives, and I think it is reasonable to wonder: What exactly does that mean?

Years ago, one of my counseling professors told us that emotions are information. They are our bodies telling us that something is happening and that we should probably pay attention to it.

That idea has stayed with me, and over time I have started to wonder whether our emotions might also be one of the ways God speaks to us.

I don’t mean that every feeling we have is a message from God. Clearly it isn’t. We get angry. We get jealous. We get afraid. Sometimes we want things that are not good for us or anyone else.

But what about the feeling that seems to come from nowhere?

Someone suddenly comes to mind and you feel like you should call them. You find yourself unexpectedly bothered by something you used to accept without question. You feel compassion for someone you would normally walk past. Something inside you keeps saying: stop. Listen. Apologize. Help.

Maybe that is just us.

But maybe sometimes it isn’t.

Jesus says his sheep know his voice. I don’t think that means we should blindly trust every feeling. Scripture tells us to test and discern. But perhaps part of learning God’s voice is learning to pay attention, and then asking whether what we hear sounds like the God we have come to know.

Does it move me toward love? Toward compassion? Toward justice? Toward reconciliation? Does it sound like Jesus?

I don’t know that we have stopped hearing God’s voice.

Maybe we have just forgotten how to listen.

In Christ,

—Grant