The Shepherd Still Speaks

Learning to recognize His voice, trust His presence, and follow where He leads

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” — John 10:27, NIV

Does God still speak?

Over the last few years, this is one of the questions women have asked me most often. Does God actually speak to us? How do we hear Him? And perhaps the bigger question: How do we know it is Him?

I believe the Shepherd still speaks. But I also believe that sometimes we are so busy looking for an extraordinary experience that we overlook the ways He has already revealed Himself.

This summer, God took me on a journey that taught me a little more about what it means to recognize His voice.

And He did it on a mountain, with a backpack that weighed entirely too much.

A Table in the Wilderness

Several months before our trip, I committed to taking three students on a five-day backpacking adventure in the Colorado wilderness.

I knew I needed to train. I am in my forties, and hiking mountains with teenagers is not exactly the same thing as taking an afternoon stroll. So I spent months preparing my body for the trail.

What I didn’t realize was that God was also preparing my heart.

During that season, I kept coming back to Psalm 23. I had read it countless times. I knew its familiar words about green pastures, quiet waters, dark valleys, and the Shepherd’s rod and staff.

But knowing a psalm and experiencing its truth are two very different things.

When we arrived in Colorado, I discovered that the backpack I had expected to weigh around forty pounds was closer to sixty-five. We climbed mountains, crossed rivers, hiked through rain, and occasionally wondered whether we would ever reach the next campsite.

Our assigned route was called Table Trail.

I had originally hoped for a trail with a much more impressive name. After all, wouldn’t it have sounded wonderful to come home and tell everyone I had conquered Starvation Trail?

Instead, I got Table Trail. Insert side eye.

That first night, lying in my tent in the dark, I woke with a gentle nudge and a truth impressed deeply on my heart: I prepared a table before you.

I immediately thought of Psalm 23:5.

I had spent months preparing for this journey. But I began to recognize that the Lord had been preparing something for me, too.

And over the next several days, I saw reminders of His care everywhere we went.

The God Who Has Always Spoken

When we open the Bible, we do not meet a silent God.

In Genesis 1, God speaks creation into existence. Throughout the Old Testament, He reveals His character, calls His people, corrects them, comforts them, and makes promises to them.

Then John introduces Jesus as the Word who became flesh.

God’s revelation is not merely a collection of instructions. It reveals who He is. And in Jesus, we see His character and love perfectly displayed.

Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd in John 10.

A shepherd’s relationship with his sheep involves far more than giving commands. He knows them. He cares for them. He protects them and leads them.

His sheep learn to recognize his voice because they know their shepherd.

That is the relationship Jesus describes in John 10:27.

Notice the progression: Listen. Know. Follow.

We often want to know exactly where God is taking us before we agree to follow. But Jesus begins with a relationship. He knows His sheep, and His sheep listen to Him.

Sometimes His Care Looks Like a Walking Stick

Partway through our hike, one of my students asked whether I needed a walking stick.

Of course, I told him no.

I was the adult. I had trained for this trip. I was perfectly capable of carrying my own backpack.

A mile later, he asked again.

And the next half mile again.

Finally, he came up, “Hey Ferg, I found this stick, and I think you could use it.” with a giant smile on his face.

I couldn’t turn it down.

I needed that stick more than I wanted to admit. It gave me something to lean on, helped me balance, and allowed me to take some of the weight off my back when we stopped.

That evening, I was going to leave it behind. Surely, I didn’t need to carry it for the rest of the trip. As I was “forgetting” where I put it.

My heart was reminded Psalm 23:4, “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

I still have that walking stick in my garage.

That young man probably had no idea how much his kindness meant to me. I am usually the person taking care of everyone else. On that mountain, someone was taking care of me and God used that young man to care for me.

God used that experience to remind me of something important: sometimes we recognize His care through the people He places beside us.

And sometimes we need enough humility to accept the help He provides.

How Do We Recognize His Voice?

Our relationship with the Shepherd is not built on chasing feelings, extraordinary signs, or trying to interpret every circumstance as a message.

It begins with knowing Him.

We recognize His voice through Scripture. God’s Word reveals His character and gives us the foundation for testing what we believe He may be saying. The more time we spend in Scripture, the more familiar we become with the Shepherd we are following.

We depend on the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would teach His disciples and remind them of His words (John 14:26). We are not left to follow Christ through our own understanding alone.

We make room for prayer. I can be guilty of treating prayer like a daily to-do list. I tell God everything I need, thank Him for listening, and move on to the next task. But prayer is also an opportunity to be still before Him, surrender our plans, and listen.

We seek wisdom from mature believers. We were never intended to walk this journey alone. God places people in our lives who can encourage us, challenge us, pray with us, and help us test what we believe He is leading us to do.

And whenever we believe God is prompting us toward something, we need to ask important questions.

Does it agree with Scripture? Does it reflect Jesus’ character? Does it glorify Christ? Is there a steady conviction rather than merely a passing emotion?

Peace does not necessarily mean that the path will be comfortable. Following Jesus sometimes takes us into difficult places.

But we can trust the character of the One leading us.

Where Is the Shepherd Leading You?

On the last evening of our hike, we saw a rainbow.

I had prayed for one for months, and one of my girls had joined me in that prayer. When she spotted it, her excitement was unforgettable.

It was a beautiful ending to an extraordinary week.

But the most meaningful part of that trip wasn’t the rainbow, the mountains, or even the moment I woke up thinking about a table prepared in the wilderness.

It was watching three students spend time in Scripture, pray, and discover more about the God they had come into the mountains to seek.

They didn’t want to leave.

Neither did I.

Somewhere along that trail, Psalm 23 became more than familiar words on a page. It became a reminder of the Shepherd’s presence, provision, guidance, and care.

Perhaps today you are standing at the beginning of an unfamiliar trail. Perhaps you are exhausted from carrying a burden you were never meant to carry alone. Or perhaps life has become so noisy that you aren’t sure when you last sat quietly with the Lord.

Start with His Word. Spend time in prayer. Invite wise believers to walk beside you.

You don’t have to know the entire route before you take the next step.

You need to know the Shepherd.

You are loved. You are cherished. You are His.

Keep listening.

— Stacy “Ferg” Ferguson
Warrior 1 Nine Discipleship

Want a reminder of how to recognize the Shepherd’s voice?

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