You may not want to think of yourself as a sheep, but that is a term Jesus used to describe His children. His sheep are all those who have trusted Him as Savior—and they are the ones for whom He laid down His life. Scripture says these sheep are identified by three characteristics: They know their Shepherd, hear His voice, and follow Him.

Our Shepherd knew us before the foundation of the world. He sought us when we were lost, calling us each by name into His flock. We responded in faith by following Jesus, and from that point onward, we’ve been growing in our knowledge of Him and in our ability to obey His voice.

Yet sometimes we are rebellious sheep who, because of self-centeredness, fail to heed Christ’s Word. We begin to ignore His directions and choose to listen to competing voices that promise to give us what we want. As we go our own way, it becomes harder to hear Christ’s voice.

When we have difficulty hearing the Lord, the best remedy is to surrender our personal desires and fix our attention on what God wants. Only then will we again be able to discern our Shepherd’s voice calling us back to Himself.