My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. John 10:27.

Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15 NKJV.

Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. Isaiah 40:31 NASB.

Last night in our Home Group we read Luke 8:1-25. I loved the insight, two insights – that together we learn because we are the body, the children of our Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, and He speaks not just to us individually but to us as a group gathered together. And that when Jesus spoke, He was fulfilling the parable of Luke 8. After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God…This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God…Luke 8:1, 11. Jesus was like the sower of the parable scattering seed – God’s word – from one town and village to another – and there were those who like soil that was shallow had those words taken quickly away; like soil that was rocky, those words withered; like soil with thorns those words were choked; and like good soil, those words were retained and held close. And that those who hear God’s word and live by them are Jesus’s brothers and sisters and mothers, Luke 8:21. Can we grasp the importance of that today?

I thought about that as I read our psalm, Psalm 81. This psalm is about the children of Israel and I confess there are times when I read about the children of Israel that I get irritated. But these psalms were written by the descendants of the children of Israel so of course that is what they wrote about. Why these lessons, these words? Because we need them today. We are God’s children and He is leading us out of slavery. The children of Israel of so long ago are a type of all of us today, yesterday, and all of tomorrows. Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre…I heard an unknown voice say: “I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket. In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Hear me, my people, and I will warn you – if you would only listen to me, Israel! You shall have no foreign god among you; you shall not worship any god other than me. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it”…v. 1, 2, 6-10. He will fill us with His words of life and lead us by the Holy Spirit so we can understand. But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me, v. 11…So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices…v. 12. Rocky, shallow soil?

I’m learning to wait in quiet trust. I’m learning to be led by God’s voice of great love. His voice is so different from the clamoring noises all around us! If you think it was difficult to lead a few million of long ago out of the slavery of one nation, Egypt, imagine all people out of the slavery of this broken world of idolatry! I can’t imagine it. But I trust my God’s voice and Him I will follow gladly.