Daily Devotionals

Understanding the Lingo

Posted in Evangelism

Scripture:  “When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” – John 10:4 

 

I discovered something on the backroads of South Carolina’s upstate many years ago.  I can understand deep country lingo.  Maybe it’s because my ears at early stages were drawn to the drawl sung by Willie and Dolly and Johnny Cash.  Or maybe it’s because my eyes had always delighted at the dialect written by southern authors.  Whatever the reason, I can decipher the most twisted twang.  

 

Case in point: My sweet daddy and I had loaded up his truck with all belongings from my Clemson dorm room and started our trek back home via shortcuts through tiny towns. Long before the days of GPS and i-Phones, we stopped at a gas station to ask a pot-bellied, bearded fella for directions to the interstate.  Much obliged, the kind man pivoted toward the long road ahead of us and said, “Ya take this here road ta down yonder, and ya go about Oooooooh-weee. Then turn ‘round thare.”  Got it.  My daddy and I grinned at each other.  Without any problem or additional questions, we understood his lingo perfectly.  So, we drove down that road a very, very long way, then turned toward the interstate — just like the man had said.  Easy.

 

Something I read this week reminded me of that funny story from my young, college days and made me wonder something new. Without a bit of clear diction, how could that old fella’s words make sense to me?  How were we able to follow his directions and understand his voice?  It’s because our ears had become attuned to a specific dialect that we’d been saturated in from one source or another throughout our lives.

 

Similarly, if we are to know the voice of our Lord, we need to saturate ourselves in his Word, speak to him using his language of prayer, and surround ourselves with others who live out the language of love.  Jesus says in John 10:4 that a shepherd’s sheep know his voice, and because they know it they can confidently follow him.  I want to confidently follow my heavenly Shepherd, so I need to become finely tuned in to ways and places I can learn His voice.

 

Will you join me in committing to a life of knowing His voice more and more each day? 

 

Prayer:  Oh Lord, I want to know Your voice more and more each day, so I’ll better understand the directions You give toward the path of life everlasting.  Amen.

 

Submitted by Caroline Bennett