Overcoming Hindrances on the Path to God's Presence

"Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will."

(Hebrews 2:1-4 ESV)
 

The heart is a leaky thing.  You have good intentions and at times a strong spiritual desire for God, but your heart is like a sieve, and pretty soon it all leaks away.  Soon there is no desire left at all.

The difference between spiritual things and earthly things is that the things of the spirit are so modest; the things of the spirit are not pushing in on you; they are not singing commercials to you; they are not knocking on your door and urging you to buy; they are simply waiting for you to notice.  The things of the flesh are so insistent, so clamorous.  Everybody is singing to you, urging you, pushing you, trying to get you to go certain ways and do certain things.

Our Lord is never intrusive; but the things of the world are intrusive.  Here is the point I'm trying to make: If you are going to give attention to the things of God, you must shake yourself and say, "Now, I don't know what others are going to do, but as for me, I'm going to seek the face of God." Some will confess, "I intend to ... later."  However there may be no later time.  "I didn't understand," they may say, but they understood enough at the time.  "I was too busy." But at last they found time to die.

Somebody else says, "Nobody in my crowd paid any attention to these things," but it is always so.  The saving voice of God speaks to a crowd of men, but only one here and there hears it.  When the voice of God spoke to the antediluvian world, only Noah and his family heard it.  The rest of them perished in the flood.

Somebody else says, "If I pay attention to this, I'll lose my job."  Chances are, you will not, but if you do, any job you lose saving your soul certainly will be a wonderful bargain.

Somebody else says, "I want to have some fun now.  And then I'll become a Christian."  This is meaningless, lacking in significance to warrant any serious answer.

Somebody else says, "I was afraid of what people would say."  Afraid of what people would say?  What about what God says?

Society is in an elaborate conspiracy to make us alike.  Society is in a conspiracy to make us all bad; not too bad, because if we get too bad, we become a problem to the police.  But not too good, for if we get too good, we are fanatical, so they say.  So society wants to keep us nice, trimmed down, going to church, supporting boys' clubs and girls' clubs and hospitals.  Certainly those things are all right.  The general society wants to keep us good enough not to be a problem to the police but bad enough not to bother their conscience.

I hear the voice of God calling us to a higher kind of life.  The book of Hebrews is an urgent, vibrant, living book that speaks to those that are on the border and says, "Go on over.  You can dare to do it.  Go on over."  And it speaks to those who could not quite make up their minds whether they wanted to obey and believe God, and says, "You dare obey.  You dare believe."

We who overcome all hindrances is handsomely rewarded when we break through to the glorious sunshine of His blessed presence.

[A.W. Tozer, Experiencing the Presence of God]