Do you ever answer the phone and know who it is without the caller saying? Do you have loved ones whose phrases you can anticipate based on a given situation? It’s because we come to know voices of people we spend time with. We know what they sound like. We know what they will say.

Recently we sang “By Grace I’m Saved” (Lutheran Service Book 566) a few times and I was struck by the line, “For though I know my heart’s condition, I also know my Savior’s voice.” “Yes,” I thought, “I do know my hearts condition and I do know my Savior’s voice. And I’m so thankful.”

This has become my prayer for my children, that no matter what I do in a day, they might come to know their Savior’s voice better. That no matter what they’re facing—little people with littler problems or when they become bigger people with bigger problems—they know the Savior’s voice. They recognize it. They know what the Savior has said. And most importantly, they know what voices are NOT the Savior. They can identify the voices and words that are trying to deceive them.

So, like knowing any voice we must spend time with the one whose voice we want to know better. We must be in the Word of God. He’s given us free access to what He has said and done so that we will know His voice.

• When you are facing struggles, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “Take heart, I have overcome the world” John 16:33
  • “My yoke is easy, and my burden is light” Matthew 11:30
  • “Call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you” Psalm 50:15
  • “When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end” Isaiah 43:2
  • “Cast your cares on [me] because [I] care for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
  • “[I am your] refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
• When you are facing joys, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “I have come that [you] might have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10
• When you are grieving or filled with sorrow, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “[I am] close to the broken-hearted and save those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
  • “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.” John 14:1
• When you’re confused, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find…” Matthew 7:7
• When you’re tempted, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “[I] will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” 1 Corinthians 10:13
• When you feel guilty, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “[I] do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy” Micah 7:18
• When you are lonely, the Savior’s voice says,
  • “Nothing will be able to separate [you] from [my] love.” Romans 8:38-39
  • “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go…I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15
  • “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18