This morning I went out to feed the guardian dogs.
Grace was waiting for me just inside the gate, but Samson was nowhere to be seen. That isn’t unusual. Samson takes his job seriously, and apparently he was still somewhere out along the perimeter making sure everything was as it should be.
So I called for him.
“Samson!”
Nothing.
I called again.
“Samson!”
Still nothing.
I knew he was out there somewhere. Maybe he could hear me. Maybe he was busy. Maybe he simply decided whatever he was doing was more important than breakfast at that particular moment.
Then Grace did something that caught my attention.
Maybe she got tired of listening to me holler for him.
She stood there and let out one single bark.
A moment later, way off in the distance, came a bark in response.
A couple minutes later, Samson came trotting in.
I had called several times.
Grace barked once.
And Samson answered.
As I stood there watching him come in, I couldn’t help thinking about how often God works the same way in our lives.
Sometimes we desperately want someone to hear something.
We explain it.
We repeat it.
We encourage them.
We warn them.
We pray for them.
And nothing seems to get through.
So we try again, only louder.
But maybe we’re not always supposed to be the voice that gets through.
Sometimes God uses a spouse.
Sometimes a friend.
Sometimes a pastor.
Sometimes a coworker.
Sometimes even a complete stranger.
And sometimes He uses circumstances themselves.
The message may be the same, but for whatever reason, that is the voice the person recognizes in that moment.
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
— John 10:27
There is something powerful about a familiar voice.
Samson didn’t need Grace to give him a long explanation.
She didn’t bark over and over.
She didn’t chase him down.
She simply gave one bark.
And he knew exactly what it meant.
That made me wonder how often we become frustrated because someone isn’t responding to our voice when perhaps God is already preparing another voice they’ll hear.
Our job isn’t always to make someone listen.
Sometimes our job is simply to speak when God tells us to speak, pray when He tells us to pray, and then trust Him with the rest.
Paul understood this when he wrote about planting and watering while recognizing that ultimately God gives the increase.
We aren’t responsible for forcing the outcome.
We’re responsible for being faithful.
Maybe you’ve been calling out to someone for a long time.
A child.
A spouse.
A friend.
Someone who has wandered farther from God than you ever imagined they would.
You’ve said everything you know to say.
You’ve prayed every prayer you know to pray.
And you’re wondering why they still aren’t coming back through the gate.
Don’t give up.
But also remember this:
God has more than one voice He can use.
You may have planted the seed.
Someone else may water it.
And somewhere out beyond where you can see, God may already have a Grace ready to give that one bark that finally gets an answer.
This morning, I couldn’t see Samson.
But Grace knew he was out there.
She called.
He answered.
And a couple minutes later, he was home.
Sometimes faith means trusting that even when we can’t see someone coming back yet, God still knows exactly where they are.
From the Pasture Pulpit
You don’t have to be the voice that changes someone’s life.
Just be faithful with the voice God gave you.
And when your voice doesn’t seem to reach them, trust that God has other voices in the pasture.