We have been dealing with Crossing the Sound Barrier of hearing God and have seen how a barrier of the closed mind can affect the sound of God’s voice.   The same is true of the closed heart, how can I discover that the heart has no sound barriers?

“We might die…” It’s quite amazing as we read of the journey of the children of Israel through the wilderness, the times of the complete nation responding as one person and reflecting the human heart. In Exodus 20: 18-19 we are told of the story when the people gathered around mount Sinai, they knew that God had something to speak to them but they were terrified at the prospect. From that experience they said to Moses “ speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die”.

The fear of God saying something sometimes closes the heart. We don’t like uncomfortable direction that draws on our obedience. What if we were called to some great sacrifice?

Reality is that unfortunately quite often this is what God does, If fear is deafening us to God’s voice encourage yourself and realise that hearing God are priceless and eternal gifts, Paul said be encouraged for the moment troubles are far outweighed by the eternal glory (2 Corinthians 4:17)

“We’ve got…” sometimes it’s our ego, our pride that builds a barrier.  We have things are under control we don’t need to talk with God.  God has a cure the deals with our confidence in ourselves: circumstances and life in its challenges often lead us to a conversation with God.

God chooses compassion towards us by speaking to us in the narrative of Isaiah 30, God calls Israel to trust in God’s protection, the people’s response was V 16  “no, the trouble comes we got horses for a getaway”.  Following all the events around this story verse 21 culminates with a speaking God “ whether you turn to the right door to the left,” the promises, “your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying this is the way walk in it.”

“I’m not listening to a donkey” pride can also lead us to presumption of the kind of messenger God uses to come to us. We know well the story of Balam’s donkey in Numbers 22 when God spoke to such an animal. It is repeated time and time again throughout the Scripture, God coming and speaking to a child, through the unacceptable ways God.    Even in John 9 the people struggled with the healing of the blind man because Jesus was the vessel of a troublemaker.

It’s not often the strange-looking but more often the person so near to us we can’t see them for what they are. Our perception of the person locks the person out, and we become unable to hear God through them. And of course this is never us!?

When the sound barrier is broken through that messenger that we have classified as unworthy, the easiest thing, simplest thing, why is it so hard to thank the person that they are the voice of God to you?  this could  help avoid future presumption.

“You’re not the God of me” sometimes we just missed God because we are rebellious, trying to be so different. Sometimes it’s a simple that you don’t belong to my stream, the school of thought that I believe is now central to God, and becomes the only thing God is saying, by them, really. We can sometimes live as if a person does not belong to the same God.