The Power of the Wind
Wind
I saw you toss the kites on high
And blow the birds about the sky;
And all around I heard you pass,
Like ladies’ skirts across the grass–
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
I saw the different things you did,
But always you yourself you hid.
I felt you push, I heard you call,
I could not see yourself at all–
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
O you that are so strong and cold,
O blower, are you young or old?
Are you a beast of field and tree,
Or just a stronger child than me?
O wind, a-blowing all day long,
O wind, that sings so loud a song!
by: Robert Louis Stevenson
The third chapter of John gives us one of the most well known verses in all of Scripture, John 3:16, but it was the conversation with Nicodemus in the earlier verses that the Holy Spirit gave me a little extra recently during my study time. Those moments of getting a special “nugget” of truth are so precious to me!
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which
is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not marvel that I said to you,
‘You must be born again.’8 The wind blows where
it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where
it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone
who is born of the Spirit.”
The Master Teacher gave Nicodemus a metaphor of wind to help him better understand the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful illustration!
Robert Louis Stevenson wrote of wind; its mysterious nature and the loud song it sings. Wind cannot be contained, controlled, or even fully explained.
Strong winds are nothing new to anyone living on the coast for more than one hurricane season. We have full knowledge of the capability of the wind. We delight in it sitting on the porch or the beach, but we like to keep it manageable. Strong winds are not welcomed by us.
What about the strong push of the Holy Spirit? Do we welcome that nudge? Do we ignore the push because it will require too much of us? Do we obey the Holy Spirit and marvel at the works of His hand?
The greatest joys in my life have come from obedience to Him- sometimes it is a gentle breeze, a nudge, and sometimes it seems like a gale force ready to blow off a roof. I clearly can remember knowing I was being called to obedience when a stranger on the street in Savannah pulled over in her car to ask for help. I was told in a quiet whisper to pray right there with her in the middle of the street surrounding a popular historic square. That is not a normal activity on the streets in that eclectic city! We held hands, she shouted a few “Amens”, and we parted ways. I do not know the outcome of her situation, but I do know the flood of joy and peace I felt rush through me as I continued the walk to my car. My obedience to that quiet breeze turned into a rush of joy and peace that pushed my sails for days to come.
Isn’t God so good to speak to us, tell us to act, and then reward our obedience with His peace that passeth all understanding?
Nicodemus was not understanding the words he was being told that night by the Rabbi, but I imagine he remembered them as he stood at the cross, buried the body of Jesus, and saw the wind of the Holy Spirit move through Jerusalem like tongues of fire on Pentecost.
Listen today for the Divine wind. Listen for the call to act. It may seem insignificant, but with your obedience the Holy Spirit can turn what seems like a quiet breeze into a rushing wind that can change lives for eternity.
Rebecca Hamilton
