Breaking The Spiritual Sound Barrier - By Guest Contributor Jim Frieberg

Luke 6:46-49: 

"Why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not [practice] what I tell you?" 

"For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words [in order to heed their teaching] and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation upon the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or [a]founded on a rock. But he who merely hears and does not practice doing My words is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation, against which the torrent burst, and immediately it collapsed and fell, and the breaking and ruin of that house was great."
Why do I remain in the realm of “spiritual turbulence” being buffeted and tossed around? Why am I not experiencing the spiritual breakthrough that God wants for me? Why am I stuck, spinning my spiritual wheels, making little forward progress? Is there a breakthrough point? Can I expect that in my life? As a point of comparison, and for illustrative purposes; the Lord reminded me of Chuck Yeager and his experience in breaking the sound barrier. So I asked; what was it like for him as he attempted to break the sound barrier, being launched from the belly of a B-29 in his experimental aircraft? Can I have the same expectation in the spiritual realm, knowing that I will be more “alive” on the other end?

Gen. Chuck Yeager Describes How He Broke The Sound Barrier 

When I’d settled, Ridley would lower the cabin door on a small cable and position it over the doorframe. He’d push from the outside and I’d latch from the inside and somehow, in the icy wind, with thinning oxygen and mounting anticipation, we’d get the X-1 ready for flight.

The drop itself was the next big obstacle, and like entering the bird, it’s something that I never really got used to. During preflight checks, I’d practice neutralizing the controls and brace myself for the release. Cardenas would go through the countdown, finishing with an emphatic “Drop!” The X-1 would float from the B-29 and I’d get launched right up to the cockpit overhead, caressing the canopy with my helmet in the sudden swell of microgravity. My heart was in my mouth, stomach right behind it.

The pilot’s reports I wrote afterward were devoid of these sensations–as a professional test pilot, you were expected to maintain a dispassionate tone. Consider these excerpts from the report following the eighth powered flight: “After pilot entry in the usual fashion at 7000 ft., the XS-1 was dropped from the B-29 at 20,000 ft. and at 260 mph indicated airspeed. . . . Immediately after the drop, all cylinders were started in rapid sequence, and with all four in operation it was noted that No. 1 and No. 3 had 210-psi chamber pressure, No. 2 and No. 4 having 220 psi, with approximately 290-psi LOX and fuel line pressure. . . . The climb was made at .85 to .88 Mach until 40,000 ft. was reached. . . . “

That flight, on Oct. 10, signaled enormous progress in the X-1 program. We thought it was only a matter of time before we’d push through the sound barrier. What would it be like? A pebble in the road of aviation we had merely to step over? Or an insurmountable Chinese Wall that would destroy the X-1–and me with it? Naturally, thoughts at these moments turned to Glennis and my boys, who sacrificed plenty out in the desert in those brightly lit days of the late 1940s. I wanted to fly, wanted to take my shot at the speed of sound. And they were my own personal cheering section.

As I stood looking at my carrot, my glasses and my rope on the morning of Oct. 14–broken ribs secretly knifing at my side–I thought that this just might be the day. The eighth powered flight had gone exceedingly well. We had flown as fast or faster than anyone ever had before. And it looked as though we only had to step over the line to enter aviation’s new age. The day of the ninth powered flight began in the usual way. I fried the eggs while Glennis got ready to drive me over to the airfield. I’d had a bad night’s sleep–from the pain in my side, but also from the indecision about whether or not to fly the mission incapacitated. Tossing and turning, I decided to make up my mind in the air. If it became physically impossible to climb into the X-1, then I’d scrub the mission. If I could get into the pilot’s seat, I knew I could fly.

As the team swarmed over the X-1, with cords from trouble lights dangling in the early morning gloom, and tools, racks, ladders and other gear surrounding the little ship, Ridley began the preflight coaching. “We got that Drene shampoo for the windshield,” he said, “so you shouldn’t have any trouble with the windscreen frosting over. Now remember, you play around with the stabilizer setting before you make your high-speed run. We know you’ll lose some elevator control, so find out where you get the most longitudinal control with the stabilizer. Try it at different settings and different speeds above .85 or .86 Mach.” Discussions continued over coffee. There was a heightened intensity, a new determination, on the part of everyone involved. This was it.

This was the day. Would it end with another record shattered? Or with failure’s grim finality?

After the X-1 was fueled, I returned to the ready room with Ridley to don my flight suit. Briefings continued, peppered by admonitions and warnings: “Under no circumstances are you to . . .,” “In the event of . . .,” “You’d better be sure to . . . .” Their whole point was to make sure I didn’t take the X-1 over .96 Mach if I didn’t think the plane could handle it.

Fear crouched in the deep recesses of the mind–present, accounted for, but well controlled. With the fueling and mating procedures completed, I walked back out to the B-29 and stooped low to make a last-minute check of the X-1’s instrumentation. My helmet and oxygen mask were well secured behind the seat, I jogged to the boarding ladder and started climbing. Then there was the long wait as the B-29’s engines fired, the big bird began its takeoff roll and lumbered up to the drop altitude. I sat on a metal box inside the plane, ignoring my safety belt against the regulations. At 5000 ft., I nudged Ridley and said, “Let’s go.” We walked back to the bomb bay hatch and strode through. There was the little X-1, dangling in all that wind and cold and thinning air. Every move was torturous at this altitude. Getting into the X-1 on a good day was tiring enough. But I struggled through, wangled the hatch closed with the help of a 10-in. piece of broomhandle I’d fashioned for the purpose (because of the limits imposed by my broken ribs) and continued checking the X-1’s pressurization, fuel delivery and controls.

Richard Frost, Bell project engineer, was flying low chase that morning, and Lt. Bob Hoover was flying high chase well ahead of the B-29, both in Lockheed P-80s. In the standard routine, Frost would pull into a slight climb as I lighted the first chamber, aiming for Hoover’s P-80 about 10 miles ahead. I would try to pass Hoover at relatively close range as the fuel supply depleted, and he’d follow me down for an unpowered landing on the lakebed.

Everything was set inside X-1 as Cardenas started the countdown. Frost assumed his position and the mighty crack from the cable release hurled the X-1 into the abyss. I fired chamber No. 4, then No. 2, then shut off No. 4 and fired No. 3, then shut off No. 2 and fired No. 1. The X-1 began racing toward the heavens, leaving the B-29 and the P-80 far behind. I then ignited chambers No. 2 and No. 4, and under a full 6000 pounds of thrust, the little rocket plane accelerated instantly, leaving a contrail of fire and exhaust. From .83 Mach to .92 Mach, I was busily engaged testing stabilizer effectiveness. The rudder and elevator lost their grip on the thinning air, but the stabilizer still proved effective, even as speed increased to .95 Mach. At 35,000 ft., I shut down two of the chambers and continued to climb on the remaining two. We were really hauling! I was excited and pleased, but the flight report I later filed maintained that outward cool: “With the stabilizer setting at 2 degrees, the speed was allowed to increase to approximately .95 to .96 Mach number. The airplane was allowed to continue to accelerate until an indication of .965 on the cockpit Machmeter was obtained. At this indication, the meter momentarily stopped and then jumped up to 1.06, and the hesitation was assumed to be caused by the effect of shock waves on the static source.” I had flown at supersonic speeds for 18 seconds. There was no buffet, no jolt, no shock. Above all, no brick wall to smash into. I was alive.

What Is Next In Breaking My Spiritual Sound Barrier? 

Spiritual Principal No.#1 – The Word Is Alive, Active, And Achieving! 

Isaiah 55:8-11:

For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. 9For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. 10For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens, and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,(A) 11So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth: it shall not return to Me void [without producing any effect, useless], but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 

Spiritual Principal No.#2 – The Spoken Word Calls Forth a Heavenly Response! 

Psalm 103:20:
Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, you His angels, you mighty ones who do His commandments, hearkening to the voice of His word.

Spiritual Principal No.#3 – Expectation Of The Lord’s Goodness Is A Demonstration of Faith And Is Pleasing To The Lord. 

Psalm 27:13-14:
[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living! 14Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

Speaking God’s Word In My Turbulent Zone 

Healing

Psalm 103:1-3:
BLESS (AFFECTIONATELY, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is [deepest] within me, bless His holy name! Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not [one of] all His benefits-- Who forgives [every one of] all your iniquities, Who heals [each one of] all your diseases,


Isaiah 53:5:
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.


Peace of Mind

Isaiah 26:3:
You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.



Same Old, Same Old 

Proverbs 13:13:
Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself, but he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] is rewarded.

Proverbs 22:29:
Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.


Finances 

Proverbs 8:21:
That I may cause those who love me to inherit [true] riches and that I may fill their treasuries.

Proverbs 3:9-10:
Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income;(A) 10So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.(B)

Proverbs 13:22:
A good man leaves an inheritance [of moral stability and goodness] to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner [finds its way eventually] into the hands of the righteous, for whom it was laid up.

Proverbs 14:23:
In all labor there is profit, but idle talk leads only to poverty.

Proverbs 28:8:
He who by charging excessive interest and who by unjust efforts to get gain increases his material possession gathers it for him [to spend] who is kind and generous to the poor.(A

Protection Against Unforseen Dangers 

Proverbs 3:25-26:
Be not afraid of sudden terror and panic, nor of the stormy blast or the storm and ruin of the wicked when it comes [for you will be guiltless], 26For the Lord shall be your confidence, firm and strong, and shall keep your foot from being caught [in a trap or some hidden danger].

Proverbs 12:21:
No [actual] evil, misfortune, or calamity shall come upon the righteous, but the wicked shall be filled with evil, misfortune, and calamity.

Proverbs 19:23:
The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it rests satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil.