A Hurricane Wind and Gentle Beach Breeze
"What should I write about?" I asked myself as I tied my shoes for a stroll outside. Spring is in the air, and I thought a little walk might help clear my head.
Sometimes, when I sit down to blog, I know exactly what I am going to write about. Other times, like today, I procrastinate, hoping that something will spontaneously happen and inspire me to write.
But nothing was coming to me today. In fact, I kept getting distracted by the wind. I made sure no cars were passing by and then I stretched out my arms high and wide, trying to catch the wind like the wings of a plane. I wish I had a kite, I thought to myself, and then pictured myself letting the string all the out before the wind blew the kite right off the string and it floated away to space.
I loved the wind today. I found it magical and enticing, welcoming and exhilarating even. I love it because you cannot see where it comes from or where it is going, yet it is a powerful and moving force.
Instantly, I was reminded of John 3:8 that says, "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."
So this post is dedicated to Him, the majestic Holy Spirit, who is amazingly like the wind. It's funny how I thought the wind was distracting me, when really it was inspiring me.
So it with the Spirit. I will always remember what a friend of mine once wrote when we were in nursing school. "I am trying to do my school work," she confessed, "but Jesus keeps distracting me." How beautiful! Oh, that our desire for worship and intimacy with the Father would be so strong that it distracts us from the things that seem important in life - the worldly pursuits of wealth, acceptance, popularity, promotion, and prestige. Like the wind, the Spirit may even blow us off the course of our lives entirely, only to show us a new way of living a life of freedom, spontaneity, surrender, and trust.
The Spirit is a hurricane wind, powerfully and purposefully moving forward, causing wreckage and transformation as it goes so that what is old and worn can be renewed and rebuilt. It is not a force to be handled lightly.
Yet the Spirit is also a gentle beach wind, tousling hair and romantically inviting us into relationship with Him.
The Spirit is a power wind, a source of natural and renewable spiritual energy that never runs out.
Like a kite, we abandon ourselves and our sense of control, and we are blown with the wind in the direction it chooses. Even though we may not know where we come from or where we are going, we soar.
Like a leaf in the breeze, we are swooped up and swept away in love.
Like a palm tree, we "bend beneath the weight of his wind and mercy".
So we lift our arms high in surrender, and let the wind lift us like the wings of a bird.
The Holy Spirit is God's tangible presence living inside of every believer. In fact, He is the one who helps us to believe in the first place. He teaches us and reminds us of God's truths (John 14:26). He convicts us of sin (John 16:8). He shakes the very ground we stand on (Acts 4:31).He reveals to us the very thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:11) and even tells us things that are yet to come (John 16:13).
When was the last time you had a tangible encounter with the Holy Spirit? When was ground shaken beneath you? When did you feel Him moving in your life, changing you from the inside out? When did you sense His presence in a desperate moment? When did you last hear Him convicting you of sin and creating in you a deeper hunger and desire for intimacy with God? When was the last time you received a new revelation from the Lord that set a fire in your bones, and you knew it had to come from the Spirit because it never could have come from inside yourself? When was the last time the Spirit prompted you to do something crazy for God? When did you last feel like I don't know where I am going or where I came from, but this adventure has to be of the Spirit. I only feel bold enough to ask these questions because I am asking them of myself.
Sometimes I think I am in danger of quenching the Spirit by limiting him to my mere conscience. The Spirit is not my conscience. My conscience is something of myself, and the Spirit is something entirely outside of me (yet living within me!) that is alive, active, and moving...like the wind. The Holy Spirit is a person, God Himself, who radically influences and changes my life - the way I think, feel, respond, and act in every situation...every moment of every day if I will let Him.
So why do I expect so little of Him? How can I go a single day without even thinking about Him, praying to Him, or recognizing Him in my life?
I want to be like a kite in the wind. Because are there really ever windless days? The wind is always there, just like the Spirit, waiting for us to spread our wings and let go so we can catch even the slightest wind and fly.
Sometimes, when I sit down to blog, I know exactly what I am going to write about. Other times, like today, I procrastinate, hoping that something will spontaneously happen and inspire me to write.
But nothing was coming to me today. In fact, I kept getting distracted by the wind. I made sure no cars were passing by and then I stretched out my arms high and wide, trying to catch the wind like the wings of a plane. I wish I had a kite, I thought to myself, and then pictured myself letting the string all the out before the wind blew the kite right off the string and it floated away to space.
I loved the wind today. I found it magical and enticing, welcoming and exhilarating even. I love it because you cannot see where it comes from or where it is going, yet it is a powerful and moving force.
Instantly, I was reminded of John 3:8 that says, "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."
So this post is dedicated to Him, the majestic Holy Spirit, who is amazingly like the wind. It's funny how I thought the wind was distracting me, when really it was inspiring me.
So it with the Spirit. I will always remember what a friend of mine once wrote when we were in nursing school. "I am trying to do my school work," she confessed, "but Jesus keeps distracting me." How beautiful! Oh, that our desire for worship and intimacy with the Father would be so strong that it distracts us from the things that seem important in life - the worldly pursuits of wealth, acceptance, popularity, promotion, and prestige. Like the wind, the Spirit may even blow us off the course of our lives entirely, only to show us a new way of living a life of freedom, spontaneity, surrender, and trust.
The Spirit is a hurricane wind, powerfully and purposefully moving forward, causing wreckage and transformation as it goes so that what is old and worn can be renewed and rebuilt. It is not a force to be handled lightly.
Yet the Spirit is also a gentle beach wind, tousling hair and romantically inviting us into relationship with Him.
The Spirit is a power wind, a source of natural and renewable spiritual energy that never runs out.
Like a kite, we abandon ourselves and our sense of control, and we are blown with the wind in the direction it chooses. Even though we may not know where we come from or where we are going, we soar.
Like a leaf in the breeze, we are swooped up and swept away in love.
Like a palm tree, we "bend beneath the weight of his wind and mercy".
So we lift our arms high in surrender, and let the wind lift us like the wings of a bird.
The Holy Spirit is God's tangible presence living inside of every believer. In fact, He is the one who helps us to believe in the first place. He teaches us and reminds us of God's truths (John 14:26). He convicts us of sin (John 16:8). He shakes the very ground we stand on (Acts 4:31).He reveals to us the very thoughts of God (1 Corinthians 2:11) and even tells us things that are yet to come (John 16:13).
When was the last time you had a tangible encounter with the Holy Spirit? When was ground shaken beneath you? When did you feel Him moving in your life, changing you from the inside out? When did you sense His presence in a desperate moment? When did you last hear Him convicting you of sin and creating in you a deeper hunger and desire for intimacy with God? When was the last time you received a new revelation from the Lord that set a fire in your bones, and you knew it had to come from the Spirit because it never could have come from inside yourself? When was the last time the Spirit prompted you to do something crazy for God? When did you last feel like I don't know where I am going or where I came from, but this adventure has to be of the Spirit. I only feel bold enough to ask these questions because I am asking them of myself.
Sometimes I think I am in danger of quenching the Spirit by limiting him to my mere conscience. The Spirit is not my conscience. My conscience is something of myself, and the Spirit is something entirely outside of me (yet living within me!) that is alive, active, and moving...like the wind. The Holy Spirit is a person, God Himself, who radically influences and changes my life - the way I think, feel, respond, and act in every situation...every moment of every day if I will let Him.
So why do I expect so little of Him? How can I go a single day without even thinking about Him, praying to Him, or recognizing Him in my life?
I want to be like a kite in the wind. Because are there really ever windless days? The wind is always there, just like the Spirit, waiting for us to spread our wings and let go so we can catch even the slightest wind and fly.
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