Voice Recognition

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Researchers at Stanford University conducted a study to measure voice recognition. Twenty-four children were involved. They each heard three audio clips, each clip lasted only one second long. Two clips were random women’s voices and one the mother’s voice of each child. Although the clips were very brief, the children identified their mother’s voice 97% of the time!

Of course that made me wonder how well we know the Savior’s voice. Jesus spoke about this very issue in John’s Gospel, where He said sheep know the voice of their shepherd. On one of my trips to Israel, I saw a large flock of sheep grazing on a hillside. Several shepherd boys were looking after them. All of a sudden, the sheep began to move, separating into different groups. It started when the boys began talking to the sheep. As the boys kept talking and walking away, the sheep followed them. 

One day, Jesus spoke to a group of religious leaders and He used this same imagery. “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 from my hand” [John 10.27-28].

Jesus is the “good shepherd” [John 10.14]. As we listen to His voice, we will naturally disregard the voice of all false shepherds. We belong to Him and gladly follow His wise and loving guidance. 

And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. John 10.4