Assurance is hard to come by sometimes. For many of us, walking through the Christian life is less a matter of one triumphant stride after another, than a collection of bumps, bruises, stumbles, tumbles headlong down a hill like Wile E. Coyote, and an occasional sober step in the right direction. In our periods of lost meandering then, it becomes very easy to doubt yourself and your faith.

“Am I a Christian at all?”

“Do I really believe this?”

“Am I saved?”

“Is this going anywhere?”

In Bible study the other night, we were struck by surprising word of comfort amidst the heat of controversy. Jesus is once again arguing with this religious critics after healing a man born blind (John 9). He goes on to discuss the difference between the wicked shepherds of Israel and himself, the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10). In the middle of it, he gives a reason for the very mixed reactions he’s receiving from the crowd:

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me,is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:25-30)

Did you catch that? Why are they not accepting Jesus’ words, while others do? Because they’re not sheep. How do we know? Because sheep recognize their Shepherd’s voice.

After some discussion, my good brother and ministry partner Matt spoke of the great comfort of those words. He spoke of the struggle he has at times to trust, his self-doubt, and flaws. But then he said this, and this is golden, “I may be a lame, kind of mangled straggler at the back of the flock, but I know I hear his voice. That assures me I’m one of his sheep. Whatever else, I know I hear his voice.”

Some of us need to hear that today. We’re caught in sin, or tripped up in doubt. Maybe we’re depressed and prone to melancholy. We’re straggling along, wondering if the Shepherd knows us. Take heart, he’s calling your name and you are his. You will not be snatched from his hand.

Soli Deo Gloria