How to Respond to God’s Voice Like the Shepherds

Learn how to respond to God’s voice in this interactive Daily Time™ Devotional for Advent. We’ll take a cue from the shepherds from the Christmas story and look at three ways.

* This is week four from God With You: A Personalized Advent Devotional

Read: Luke 2:1-20

God is with you as you go about life. But He’s not just present. He desires a real relationship with His people. 

He’s also speaking. The question is, how can we respond to God’s voice?

This fourth week of Advent, we’re looking at how the shepherds responded when God spoke.

They were staying in the fields for their customary care of sheep, when an angel appeared to them, lighting up the night sky. 

Although shepherds are used to danger, they were afraid. But they were probably in shock right after that because of the astonishing message. 

The Savior is here? The One we’ve been waiting for, for so many generations? And God is sharing it with us? Wow! 

And as if the moment couldn’t be any more magnificent, the sky filled with an angelic display that fully outshined any fireworks display you’ve ever seen. Giving all glory to God!

So let’s dive into this a little bit more and take a cue from the shepherds. Here are three ways they responded to God’s voice.

Respond to God’s Voice with Attentiveness

Shepherds were low on the social scale. It doesn’t matter who you are. There is no respect of persons with God (Romans 2:11).

You don’t have to have been a Christian for 20 years, or be a pastor, or a missionary. If you have received Jesus as Savior, then you’re His own son or daughter. 

Jesus Himself promised that His sheep hear His voice! “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27 NKJV

Others in that day and culture were low on the social scale too. So why did God choose the particular group of the shepherds to share the Good News? 

Shepherds are attentive. God wants to share what He’s doing with His people. I wonder if He chose Shepherds because He knew they would listen? 

Listening cannot be passive. 

We must choose to listen to God with attentiveness and act on what He says.

Go and Share

Can you imagine if the shepherds saw the divine display, heard the message from the angel, and stayed in the field?

What if one shepherd said, “Hey nobody is going to believe us. They will think we’re crazy. We’d better keep this to ourselves!” And then the rest listened to him?

But the shepherds were ready to share what God had entrusted with them. 

How many times have we been afraid to share what God says:

• involving our personal walk
• about salvation
• regarding revelation from a verse

The angel said, “you will find.” God expected them to get up and go! 

Never let the lies of fear silence you.

You will overcome by the word of your testimony! And someone may come to know Christ because of you! 

I’m praying for all my readers and KRB Insiders that you would obey God with your whole heart. And that you would share whatever is burning in your heart about Him with others.

Glorify and Praise God

After the shepherds had found Jesus in the manger and returned back to their field, they responded to God by glorifying and praising Him for all that they had heard and seen. 

God doesn’t actually need your praises. 

He is still clothed in glory and splendor whether we praise Him or not. 

But Psalm 66:8 (NKJV) says, “Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard.”

When you do that you acknowledge that He alone is God.

Those shepherds didn’t reject God’s message or Jesus Himself. They had willing hearts to be used by God to help share the wonderful Good News that Jesus had been born.

The first half of the above verse says to bless God. What could that look like for you? 

The second half of the verse says to praise with a volume level that can be heard. Does God want you to amplify your voice in a greater way to give him glory?

I will praise you, Lord my God, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forever more. Psalm 86:12

Journaling Section

Write the key verse: And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Luke 2:9 NKJV

Respond: The shepherds didn’t know their lives were going to be changed forever after God interrupted their ordinary day. But as we’ve seen throughout this devotional series, God speaks to His people individually. 

We remember He’s with us when we recognize He is speaking to us personally. Is there something said above that spoke to your heart? Write it in your journal. Record this moment!

Reflect: How could you be more attentive to His voice? What distractions could you remove?

What is God speaking to you? Who does God want you to share it with? 

Pray: Father God, may I be one that will respond to your voice like the shepherds with attentive ears and a willing heart. Thank You for sending Jesus my Savior. Help me share the good news of salvation with all who will listen. And for all You are and all You are doing, I give You glory and praise. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

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