Noisy or “Still, Small Voice?”

“I am the Good Shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.”

John 10:14

I love this little guy.

Look at how his ears just perk up. There’s an attentive, surprised look on his face.

And he’s quiet.

Noise.

It can be a challenging obstacle for even the most focused of us.

Noise and distraction go hand in hand.

We are all familiar with The Good Shepherd, in theory, in imagery, and yes, for us Believers, in sought after and applied Truth and relationship with Him.

Probably, the most famous Scripture, depicting this Shepherd, second to “The Good Shepherd” (John 10:10)?

 

 “A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”

Psalm 23:1-3

Notice, however, there is no mention of noise or distraction.

Yeah, sure, we as sheep, are “led.”

 

But what is the gritty reality of that leading, especially when everything and everyone, so often, competes for our attention, leading us elsewhere, and yeah, getting us “lost?”

 

Scripture reiterates how we are His Sheep, and recognize- and follow- His Voice…

“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.”

John 10:3-4

“But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.”

John 10:26-28  

 

How does this happen, with surety?

How do we follow?

“But he led his own people like a flock of sheep, guiding them safely through the wilderness. He kept them safe, so they were not afraid; but the sea covered their enemies.”

Psalm 78:52-53

Imprinting.

I think it has to do with imprinting.

 

Some kind of spiritual GPS. A tracking device. Some kind of activation coded, embedded in us.

 

I have never been around sheep.

But I have had an experience with, perhaps, a sheep-adjacent creature: a fawn.

When I was a kid, for a week, I was entrusted with this baby deer.

It was lying within my family’s grove.

It was by itself.

 

Orphaned?

I’m not sure.

 

Wildlife experts state that if you see a fawn, by itself, there’s often nothing to be alarmed by.

Mama will be back soon.

The offspring is just resting and waiting, with its spots serving as camouflage.

 

Anyway, this sweet creature, resting alone in our grove, was scooped up by my dad.

And presto, change-o! I have a pet.

Not a puppy. Not a kitten.

A Fawn. I named it Bambi.

(Not an original choice of names, but I was a kid. I loved Disney).

 

This little being was dependent.

We bottle fed it cow’s milk.

It slept in my bedroom.

It was loveable and helpless, like sheep.

 

And here’s where the imprinting comes in…

That fawn, Bambi, followed me everywhere!

 

As we walked around on the farm, whenever there was too much physical distance between us, I heard the heart-grabbing, desperate bleat.

 Like that of a lamb.

Hearing that call, I would rush toward it, pick it up, hug it, try to reassure it.

 

Yes, “Mama” is here.

Even though, “Mama” was a seven-year-old girl.

It didn’t matter to this baby animal.

It imprinted on me.

 

It followed my movements and the sound of my voice.

 

That, to me, seems representative of the Lost Sheep Parable (Luke 15:2-7).

 

Our Shepherd, like each sheep, is also imprinted upon us.

He has a code to know and hear our distress signals and our whereabouts.

 

That’s why He leaves the 99 for the one stray that’s probably tangled up in a thicket somewhere.

 

He knows, He hears, He sees, and He locates.

 

We, on the other hand?

Well, that’s a little trickier.

 

Even with spiritual GPS, we still are challenged by sensory experiences.

 

And that has to do with how still and silent we can be, in response to noise and distraction.

 

Still and Silent:

“Be still and know that I am The Most High. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46:10 

Well, this is something I struggle with.

Spiritually, I guess I squirm… a lot.

Many of us are squirmers.

 

And then, there’s the matter of my yapper.

Noise.

Talk, talk, talk.

 

And listening? In silent stillness?

Eh… That needs work.

“The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Exodus 14:14 

Stillness and silence work together.

“And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.’”

Mark 4:39 

The Still, Small Voice?

Getting quiet.

It makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it?

The truth is, with us sheep, we are soothed by distraction, whatever form it takes.

Noise. Business. Go-go-go. Movement.

Modern-day life demands that we keep pace. It demands that we obey the noise.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

Isaiah 55:8

Our thoughts are noisy. Chaotic.

In dire need of some sheep wrangling.

But He is softer, quieter, most of the time.

There is a reason why the phrase, “still, small Voice” is often repeated.

It’s not just a cool or clever thing to say.

It is a “still, small Voice.”

Notice, both approaches to Him, and to being led, in Love and Wisdom, are found within that phrase…

“Still,” as in, quit moving, quit squirming, quit fidgeting, quit going over here, going over there…

AND…

“Voice,” meaning sound, further emphasized by “small.”

Not yelling. Not hoopla. Not screaming.

“Small Voice.”

I admit it. I’m still not all that expert-level when it comes to adhering TO the “Still, Small Voice.”

But there have been some stand-out occasions.

For me, in broad terms, it goes along the lines of hearing things like…

“What don’t you…?”

“Hey, try this.”

And sometimes, it’s a “boop” of an idea that settles in my mind.

Specifically?

“The Still, Small Voice” encouraged me to join a life-changing church, over twenty years ago. It wasn’t what I was used to, having come from a denominational background.

But I gave it a whirl.

And out of that decision, my first book, “Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of An Eating Disorder” manifested.

And, more soberly, and more recently, I believe that “Still, Small Voice” prompted me to write a letter to my mother.

We were estranged. I had gone “no-contact” with her for almost five years. I was committed to keeping that status in place.

And then…

“Write your mother a letter.”

I argued against that notion, as I usually do.

But I heeded.

I feared the negative can of worms that would result from writing the letter.

But I did it, anyway.

I said some painful things in the letter; I also told her that I loved her.

I sent it.

A week later, my mother was dead.

Still. Small. Voice.

Had I not heeded it, the regret, upon hearing news of her death, would have painfully complicated my grief.

Instead, I have a measure of peace.

Head to the Pasture.

“Acknowledge that the LORD is The Most High ! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.”

Psalm 100:3 

Sheep are known for mostly one locale: a pasture.

“Human Sheep,” however?

Well, we seem to inhabit every kind of environment: cities, apartment buildings, houses, high rises, parking lots, drug dens, brothels, bars, and schools, just to name some options.

And churches. We must not forget about church.

The word, “pasture,” however, speaks to more than just a geographical environment. It speaks to the place of our heart and soul: our mind, our will, and our emotions.

That’s often where we truly get “lost.”

Not in physical space, in a heart/soul space.

That’s where we struggle with moving; that’s where we struggle with deafness.

Some of us don’t even know we are supposed to reside in a spiritual pasture. We try out ever other locale and “solution.”

We become more paralyzed, and deafer, in the process.

And then, some of us even twist our definition of “pasture.”

We assert our independence, code for rebellion.

We rebel.

We decide WHAT our pasture will be.

You know, like sheep, the less- flattering version of these fluffy creatures…

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Isaiah 53:6

But through our “Good Shepherd,” you and I CAN come back.

We have spiritual GPS.

He IS calling us back.

And we CAN hear Him.

We can move into stillness, into His peaceful pasture.

We belong to Him.

“Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will thank you forever and ever, praising your greatness from generation to generation.”

Psalm 79:13

 

ABBA Father-

We come to You, in The Name of Your Son, Yahshua.

You know we are vulnerable. Helpless.

We are sheep, in desperate need of a Shepherd. You know how we have struggled and failed to listen to and follow You in our lives.

But You are still committed to shepherding us.

Thank You.

You love us that much, that You have provided the ULTIMATE sacrifice to atone for our sins.

Not just a Lamb, but The Perfect Shepherd Who is acquainted with all our weak sheep issues.

We ask for Him, therefore, to fully be our Shepherd, in every one of our ways.

Heal us, restore us, and help us to listen to and follow only Him.

Help us to glorify You as we walk, numbered, loved, and secured in His Flock.

We receive it, in Yahshua’s Name,

Amen.

Copyright © 2025 by Sheryle Cruse