This week, massive areas of the United States have been hit by incredibly forceful winds. Of course, tornadoes have already been spotted from Dallas to Illinois to northern Indiana. I was speaking with my brother in suburban Chicago after hearing reports of huge hail in the area. Sure enough, there were pieces of hail that were larger than baseballs. I have never seen hail so large…
I always worry about quick temperature drops, hail and tornadoes. We have had our roof replaced twice in the last six years. The first time was hail damage that also required replacing the two garage doors, an exterior door that was hail damaged and all the gutters/downspouts around the house. It was a massive insurance claim. The second time the roof was replaced was due to a defective roof that was put on the first time. Thankfully, the roof shingles, that were defective, were replaced without cost to us. But, like most things of this nature, it was an ordeal. There isn’t much work more dirty and inconvenient than a roof replacement…
We have had our problems with wind as well. When we lost our roof, we had 80 mile per hour straight line winds that uprooted one of our trees and produced more sticks and clean up than I had ever seen – until this weekend. This weekend actually produced the most sustained high winds that we have ever experienced. We actually had to lower our flag because it became apparent that the entire flagpole was swaying so violently that we thought it would break off.
It doesn’t help that we have birch trees that, as beautiful as they are, are some of the dirtiest trees around. They are always losing twigs and small branches. We used to have three of them, but last fall, we actually had one removed because of the close proximity to our house foundation and the constant issues with disease and insect problems.
We now ask our grandsons to come over and help pick up sticks. We love the trees, but… there sure is maintenance – especially when we have such adverse weather in the area so often. And we never know where the wind is coming from. We live on a small body of water and most of the time, we can see the weather roll in across the surface of the water. But that’s not a dependable indicator. Sometimes, it comes from the opposite direction – or swirls around the house as we watch the trees bend in every imaginable direction.
The Scripture has a fairly large number of references to wind. Sometimes, wind plays a significant role in the story. Such is the case when a strong wind comes up as the disciples are in a boat with Jesus. They are afraid and think they are going to die. They wake Jesus and He calms the storm. The first time the disciples wonder who He is – that even nature listens to Him. The second time a similar situation happens and this time, after having travelled with Jesus for some time, they declare that He is surely the Son of God. It’s a great story demonstrating the growth of the disciples during their time with our Lord.
Probably the most notable mention of the wind in the entire New Testament is when the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost. In fact, there is even a mention of the howling wind in the story. This is the arrival of the Holy Spirit after the ascension of Jesus back to His Father. It is the end of the what is referred to as a chiastic story. Everyone heard each other in their own language, the end of the story of the Tower of Babel when language was confused. Now everything comes together – these two events are referred to as bookends within this Bible story,
But tonight, we are headed in a different direction. The Holy Spirit is the least known of the three members of the Trinity. As God chose to reveal more of Himself to His people, Jesus was brought into the story as arriving in human form as a baby born in Bethlehem. Before the ascension, Jesus announced that the Father would send another in His place and that is our introduction to the Holy Spirit, who finally arrives at Pentecost.
John puts an interesting part of the story before us in his Gospel. John, having been a disciple of Jesus, and having spent three years with Him, gives us additional insight into the Holy Spirit. It is a somewhat confusing verse, though. Our verse for tonight comes from John 3:8, where John records the words of Jesus. We are told, “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.”
Jesus is telling us that we don’t know all there is to know about the Holy Spirit. In fact, we don’t know everything that the Holy Spirit does for us. One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to pray on our behalf when we are so confused that we don’t even know what to pray for. And the Holy Spirit actually indwells believers when they accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Chances are this side of heaven we will never understand all the ministries of the Holy Spirit. And that’s okay.
My encouragement this evening is that the Holy Spirit is here for us. He intercedes for us when we don’t know what to do and is an equal part of the Trinity – the Godhead. My prayer is that we will trust the Holy Spirit to act on our behalf when we need assistance and don’t know which way to turn. After all, we will be spending eternity with the Father and His Son. Undoubtedly, we will be the Holy Spirit as well. There will be plenty of time to become familiar with the ministries of Him. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…