.

Now you can blame part of the Porcupines problems on the coach no doubt. My knowledge of the game of soccer is very limited. That being said I know enough to guide the Porcupines to some improvement if they will listen to what I have to say. It rarely happens.

There are problems when the Porcupines do not hear the voice of their leader. They do what they think is best; it rarely is. They tend to have their own agenda; it’s normally not in the best interest of the team. Instead of improving they stay the same; that is not good. As they go their own way in confusion it leads not to victory but to defeat.

The last few games I noticed something while I was trying to get my team’s attention. It is not that they don’t want to listen to me it is just that they don’t recognize my voice. As I stood on the sidelines parents have started to surround me to help me out, trust me the help is appreciated. What has happened is that I will yell something and of course nothing happens but then the parents yell the same thing and guess what; they respond. Guess why? The voice is familiar, it carries weight and they trust it. Thus should be the voice of God in the Christian’s life.

In life there are many voices calling our name. There are the voices of lust that overwhelm us every day at every turn. There is the voice of greed that calls us to get more and to never be satisfied. There is the voice of selfishness that says take care of yourself and don’t worry about anyone else, you deserve it. There is the voice of hatred, prejudice, laziness, judgment and jealousy; the list could go on endlessly. The voices of the world are loud and if we are not careful they will overwhelm us and drown out the only real voice we should hear; the voice of God.

The last thing we want to do is wonder around in darkness and defeat like the Prickly Porcupines; we want victory, we want improvement. So how does it happen?

1. Know God. The children know their parents voice because they belong to them. You will never hear the voice of God until you give your life wholeheartedly to Him as your personal Savior.
2. Become familiar with His voice. The children knew the voice of their parents because they heard it each and every day. We can learn to hear the voice of God by reading His word daily, spending time in prayer, being quite in His presence and giving ourselves in worship.
3. Trust Him. The Porcupines did not respond to me but to the people they trust. Their parents had not let them down; they had been there for them for years. Their parents love them. With love comes trust. God loves you and you can trust that His voice will never lead you in the wrong direction or one that will bring harm to you.
4. Obey Him. It was one thing for the children to hear the voices; it was a whole other thing for them to respond to it. Many times we hear that still small voice of God and still do not obey it. This leads to disaster and eventually after doing this for a period of time God’s true voice becomes less clear. Nothing leads to defeat like disobedience.

Do you want to see victory in your life, even small improvement? Take a note from the Prickly Porcupines; listen and respond to the right voice.

Scripture: John 10:2-4, “The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 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 10:11, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

Prayer: Dear Lord, Help us to learn your voice clearly, to respond in obedience and to trust you completely. We ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus Christ.