Even if we get in position to hear God’s voice, there can still be barriers that prevent us from hearing God’s voice either at all or accurately.
positioning is about being able to listen in the first place. We must position our ears, our hearts and our minds.
We position our ears by reducing and eliminating the distractions that call for our attention but don’t help us hear God at all. Distractions come in many forms, both large and small. Do a quick analysis of what occupies your time and you’ll see what I mean.
We position our hearts by simply wanting to hear God’s voice. We won’t listen if we really don’t want to hear what God is going to say to us. For instance, if I am on a trajectory that I know is not helpful to me and is not God’s will for me, then I probably won’t tune in to hear God’s voice. My heart will be elsewhere.
We position our minds by letting them be transformed by the Holy Spirit, rather than being conformed to this world, as it says in Romans 12:2. The quickest way to have our mind transformed is through Scripture, which includes simple reading of the Bible, studying Scripture and meditating on passages from the Bible. It also includes spending time with others trying to both understand the Bible and to also listen to how the Bible is impacting others’ lives.
But even if we get in position, there might be barriers that prevent us from hearing God’s voice, or at least mute it so we can’t hear God clearly.
One barrier is anger. We are told in the Bible to not let the sun go down on our anger (Eph. 4:26-27).
Anger is a God-given emotion. We all get angry. Anger is an emotion of self-preservation; in other words, something has happened where we feel demeaned, diminished or devalued in such a way that we feel like something is REALLY at stake for us. Of course, we can get angry for the wrong reasons, but that’s not what I’m talking about here.
The problem with lingering anger is that it finds a home in us and keeps us self-focused, which then prevents us from effectively interacting with both God and others.
Keeping a grudge effectively shuts down relationships and lets profound disease and dis-ease creep in, creating a barrier to effective and healthy communication and simple relating.
It’s not bad or evil to get angry. Our anger might scare us because of past explosions or the like, but anger is a sign that I have taken a “hit” deep within who I am, my essence, my soul. Don’t ignore your anger.
But treat your anger like a symptom, rather than the problem. The problem is deeper and your anger points to it, much like when you hit your thumb with a hammer. The problem isn’t the pain; the problem is that your thumb has been wounded.
When you feel anger your soul has been wounded.
But don’t let your anger become a barrier to hearing God’s voice by becoming so “loud” in your life that God can’t get a gentle whisper in edgewise.
