Welcome back again to another podcast of Struggling Well. You're we're delighted that you've joined us again this week. And we welcome back Suzi, my wife.
Hello everyone. I want to thank Tim for subbing in for me for the last two episodes. Tim is always with us as he is our producer. But due to some extenduated oh extenduating circumstances I was not able to be here but I am glad to be here again.
And so last week Tim and I talked about our meaning you and me Suzi our verse of the year. That's something we started back in 2019. And We've continued on each year and this year's is comes from the Gospel of John in the 10th chapter about Jesus and being the good shepherd. And so, you have some thoughts that you want to add in to since it was yours and my verse.
That's right. It was, it's been really interesting because the day that came to in my heart, I don't know how the spirit works all the time, but I know I kept hearing the word voice in my mind and it kept resonating in my heart about voice and voices, all the different voices that we hear. And so when the Lord brought us to John 10 and I love it in the NLT when he says that in verse I think it's verse 5 about the stranger whose voice the sheep hear they'll run from him because they don't know his voice. This has been really on my mind a lot since then. and some of it has to do with if any of you listened before you heard my brother talking about his battle with cancer which she's still in the midst of. And I'll be honest with you, as I have watched this from afar and spoken with my brother when I get a chance frequently and my sister-in-law, watching the two of them in such a hard place has been difficult. Now, I'm way here. I'm hours away from where they live. I can't do anything practically. but I love my brother and I love my sister-in-law and watching them wrestle with all the agony of what happens when you have cancer, such progressive cancer as my brother does and my sister-in-law as a caretaker and she's done a wonderful job of taking care of my brother and my nieces have done the same. But this is where the whole idea of the voice comes into me. So, as I am Jimmy made a comment to me the other day about how it's on my mind all the time. And when something is on my mind all the time, it's not like it's this one solid voice that I hear. It's not like I'm hearing just the spirit's voice. I'm hearing a bazillion voices. So, in that struggle of watching my brother and my sister-in-law wrestle with this horrible disease, I hear a lot of things. I hear a lot of voices. Some are very negative. Some are very accusatory. Some are very outlandish. But it's really really really hard when you are in the midst of struggle as my brother is and my sister-in-law are. and I'm the observer, but I'm having a really I'm being honest with you guys. I'm having a real hard time listening to the spirit speaking to me because what I think he wants to say to me is comfort and guidance. And I find myself doing this funny little dance like I want to avoid him. I want to avoid what he's saying. Because what I want to hear him say is, "I'm going to heal your brother."
Yeah. And it's Yes, it is. It is their struggle and we are observers, but their struggle spills over into our lives. And that's where it gets complicated and confusing at times. And what Jesus says is that we will run from the voice of a stranger.
Yeah.
And I'm and we'll follow his voice. And that's really. I think Tim said asked me this question last week on the podcast. was that listening to the voice, was that something we were doing or was that more aspirational?
And I think it I think we try to do it, but I think it is aspirational. It's one of the desires to be able to clearly go, "Okay, Lord, you have this. You're in control and we'll listen and follow to you as opposed to listening to all the crazy voices out there
and trusting that voice." Because I know what I'm feeling is that, Lord, what I want you to say to me is that you're going to heal him and he doesn't have to go through this anymore. That's what I want to hear. So, when I don't hear that, then I find myself avoiding him. We have this, just a little aside, we have this picture in our kitchen that I love. I don't even know where I found it. And it's of Jesus and he is out of focus running towards one little sheep, one little lamb that has gone off. And that picture so depicts where many of us end up when we are struggling or seeing people we love struggle is or maybe I'm just the weird one out here. I don't know. But it's that this feeling of what I want you to do, God, you don't seem to be doing.
Yeah. And I think this picture in John 10, and we just picked on the first couple verses for our verse for the year, but the part that is he goes before for them. There's a picture of intimacy in this opening scene of John chapter 10
that we know not only do we know his voice, but he is right there. He goes before us and he we follow him. there's that intimate relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. And it's what we long for.
Yeah, I definitely long for that. I want to know the shepherd as the good shepherd.
I want to like I think you guys referred to Psalm 23. I want to allow him to discipline me. you know the shepherd carries that big thing with a hook on it so that
is a staff. Is that what it's called? To grab hold of a sheep by the neck. Not in a hard way, but to be able to lead them back in.
I seem to be that sheep a fair amount of time. And that's where this verse these verses have meant so much to me. is I find myself and this is not all about me by any stretch, but I find myself when I'm when my heart is broken, I find myself wanting to figure it out and having God come along with my plan.
Yeah. Well, we have we all have preferred outcomes to situations we're wrestling with. Whatever whether it's health issues, whether it's job issues, whether it's relational issues, we have a preferred outcome that we hope and many times can that hope can turn into a demand that God come through in a certain way as opposed to I think what this chapter is talking about what scripture talks about is trusting him trusting his voice trusting his direction that he's leading us in and not wanting to demand a certain outcome that was what we think is best
and the problem with demanding a certain outcome and this happens so often in the Christian world is that we want God to do a certain thing. I'm honest before you telling you that myself. And when he doesn't come through, then we step away from him in big ways. Sometimes people step away entirely and they're like, "I'm done, you know, I'm done with God. He didn't answer the way I thought he should." And so what we often want is this life according to us with God going, "Hey, great idea. Let's put a stamp of approval on that. Now, let me know what you want to do next." And that's not the relationship. ship that we have with the creator. I mean, I think about that. The creator, I'm telling the creator what to do,
right? Yeah. And so, as you move into 2026, we don't know what's going on in your world and in your life. Maybe right now it's a real sweet season of blessing and, peace and that's great. maybe it's hard times. but I would challenge you, we would challenge you as you look to 2026 as to the voice you're willing to listen to. Do you trust his voice? Do you trust the one who is out in front leading the way and guiding and having your best at his heart.
Yeah. Thanks again for joining us week after week. as always, we would love to hear from you. We'd love to give you a shout out and just know that we are asking God to give us direction and discernment each week. Tim prays for us before we start each week and we know that the Lord is leading us. So again, thank you for being with us.
Thanks. and have a great week.