Like the Wind
When I opened the door and stepped outside, I expected to get blasted with a blow of hot, sticky, humid air. Instead, I was pleasantly greeted by the surprising cool, sweet-smelling breeze of autumn. At the risk of being late to class, I slowed my pace in order to enjoy the crisp, chill morning. For the first time in months, I walked across campus without sweating immediately.
Fall is finally coming, I thought to myself. I don't know how I missed the transformation of summer to fall, but I feel like this one morning I just woke up and felt it.
I love fall. Fall means chill bumps on my arms when I forget to wear my jacket. It means leaves changing colors and decorating the dry ground. Fall means cinnamon scents and pumpkin carvings and hayrides and candy corn. Fall means circling around campfires in cozy sweatshirts to toast smores and sing worship songs to the strumming of a guitar. Fall means propping open windows and doors so that all can enjoy the fresh air that we have missed for so long.
There is just something different - something amazing - about the smell of fresh fall air compared to the air-conditioned, already-breathed, almost clostrophobic air of the indoors. It is almost transforming. It puts people in a better mood because they become more positive, more content, more playful.
The word for the Holy Spirit is "pnuema", which also means "breath" or "wind". When I breathe the sweet wind of fall, I think about what it means to breathe the Holy Spirit, the wind and breath of God Himself. In and out, taking deep breaths that fill the lungs.
The Spirit is like the refreshing, surprising, invigorating breath of the newness of fall. When we try to breathe on our own, without the Holy Spirit, it is like trying to survive forever on the suffocating air of a dark closet. But when we open wide the windows and doors of our hearts, we allow the Spirit to breathe into us - to blow through us - and to fill us with revival.
Sometimes I like to just sit outside on a cool, windy autumn day and breathe. The air feels cool in my lungs, and I take it in deeply, let it oxygenate my blood and bring energy to my body. In the same way, the Spirit satisfies and renews our very souls when we tune ourselves into His presence and breath deeply and slowly of His love.
As fall gently comes and the wind sweetly blows, may the cool air on our faces remind us of the comforting presence of the Spirit. As the leaves change color and the wind blows them wherever it pleases, may we remember the transforming power of the Spirit of God who is at work within us. And as we open our windows and allow the fresh air to blow through our stuffy habitats, may we also open our hearts to the Spirit, who blows through our lives and brings refreshment, renewal, revival. May we breathe deeply of His presence and allow it to fill our lungs and saturate our lives.
It has been far too long since we've felt this freshness and livliness of wind, of Spirit. Even when we are used to dry deserts and hot air, may the Spirit come upon us and surprise us with the coolness of autumn winds. Breathe in and out with ease; the Spirit is near.
Fall is finally coming, I thought to myself. I don't know how I missed the transformation of summer to fall, but I feel like this one morning I just woke up and felt it.
I love fall. Fall means chill bumps on my arms when I forget to wear my jacket. It means leaves changing colors and decorating the dry ground. Fall means cinnamon scents and pumpkin carvings and hayrides and candy corn. Fall means circling around campfires in cozy sweatshirts to toast smores and sing worship songs to the strumming of a guitar. Fall means propping open windows and doors so that all can enjoy the fresh air that we have missed for so long.
There is just something different - something amazing - about the smell of fresh fall air compared to the air-conditioned, already-breathed, almost clostrophobic air of the indoors. It is almost transforming. It puts people in a better mood because they become more positive, more content, more playful.
The word for the Holy Spirit is "pnuema", which also means "breath" or "wind". When I breathe the sweet wind of fall, I think about what it means to breathe the Holy Spirit, the wind and breath of God Himself. In and out, taking deep breaths that fill the lungs.
The Spirit is like the refreshing, surprising, invigorating breath of the newness of fall. When we try to breathe on our own, without the Holy Spirit, it is like trying to survive forever on the suffocating air of a dark closet. But when we open wide the windows and doors of our hearts, we allow the Spirit to breathe into us - to blow through us - and to fill us with revival.
Sometimes I like to just sit outside on a cool, windy autumn day and breathe. The air feels cool in my lungs, and I take it in deeply, let it oxygenate my blood and bring energy to my body. In the same way, the Spirit satisfies and renews our very souls when we tune ourselves into His presence and breath deeply and slowly of His love.
As fall gently comes and the wind sweetly blows, may the cool air on our faces remind us of the comforting presence of the Spirit. As the leaves change color and the wind blows them wherever it pleases, may we remember the transforming power of the Spirit of God who is at work within us. And as we open our windows and allow the fresh air to blow through our stuffy habitats, may we also open our hearts to the Spirit, who blows through our lives and brings refreshment, renewal, revival. May we breathe deeply of His presence and allow it to fill our lungs and saturate our lives.
It has been far too long since we've felt this freshness and livliness of wind, of Spirit. Even when we are used to dry deserts and hot air, may the Spirit come upon us and surprise us with the coolness of autumn winds. Breathe in and out with ease; the Spirit is near.
Like the wind, so it is with the Spirit.
"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)
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