"And the Wind Blew"

So, how are you doing during "Storm aftermath day 3"? I hope you are well. You have been prayed for and the offer for help from your church family still stands.

The force of the winds on Sunday were pretty incredible. Not realizing how bad it would get, around 2 PM, Kimberly said, "Let's go get ice cream." It seemed that every mile we drove the worst the winds became. We finally made it to the ice cream shop and while we were paying for our order, the wind blew the front door off the store and shattered it on the concrete. At that point I looked at Kimberly and said, "What are we doing out here?" (Of course, we finished our ice cream. I figured if we were going to die, I could think of no better way than spending my final moments with the ones I love eating black raspberry chip ice cream with whip cream on top :-) Of course, that was just the beginning of the winds and the damage it left in its aftermath is still being dealt with by many and probably many of you...debris to be cleaned up, damage to property to be repaired, power to be restored. I just heard that one area may not have power for 5-6 weeks. The wind has come and gone, but its effect will not be forgotten for some time.

As I think about our wind I am reminded that the Bible looks to the wind as an illustration for spiritual truths, such as the following:

Jesus says in Matthew 3:5-8,"I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. Flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit to spirit. You should not be surprised by this saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." The wind may be invisible, but its effect is powerful. The same is true with the Spirit of God. You may not be able to see it, but what he can do in a person's life is nothing less than powerfully miraculous. Have you been born of the Spirit? Have you received Jesus as the Forgiver of your Sins and Leader of your life? If so, then you will see his work blowing through you.

Ephesians 4:14, "Then we will no longer be infants tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming." On Sunday some trees swayed with the wind and other trees broke under it. What kind of follower of Christ are you? Spiritual infants are easily blown by every wind that comes along. This section of Scripture goes on to urge us to grow up in our faith so that even if we are shaken we will not be broken.

Ecclesiastes 2:11, "Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun." These words are written by a man who had it all according to human standards, but reviewed his life and found that all that he had was worth little more than wind in his hands. Am I chasing after anything more?

I do not know what the wind has done to you, but my prayer is that even today, in this moment, you and I would make room in our day for God to blow his Spirit afresh in and through us.