Yesterday and today have been two of the windiest days I can remember anywhere, anytime. And I grew up on the south side of Chicago! I returned from a short business trip to the southern part of the state on Tuesday evening and it was already starting to get a little windy down there. By yesterday morning, it was unbelievable and, if possible, there is even more wind today than there was yesterday!
I take great pride in making sure that things stay organized and to tell the truth, by the time I backed the car out of the garage today, I couldn’t believe the amount of trash and number of leaves that blew in. I was prepared to head out and sweep the garage but it wouldn’t have made any difference. There was no way that I was going to get things back to normal. Every time I was even partially successful, more leaves took the place of the ones that had been swept out – how frustrating.
Thankfully, we have never suffered extreme damage from wind. Several folks I know were caught in a freak wind event a number of years ago in downtown Indy. Straight line winds actually tore the skin off parts of a high rise and it necessitated a disaster recovery program to keep the employees up and running with their technology until the building could be repaired. There were actually people who were working at their desks as the wind ripped the windows and “skin” off the building. Imagine what it would have been like to have witnessed something like that while you were working at your desk – incredibly scary.
And when I was a young guy, living with my parents, we had a favorite restaurant named Melody Lane on the south side. One day, there were severe storms in the area where we lived. While we were fortunate in that our home was not damaged, the path of the tornado took it right through the neighborhood where Melody Lane was located and sure enough, it was virtually destroyed by high winds. I remember driving with my parents to have dinner and seeing the horrific pile of rubble that had been left behind. That was the end of an era.
There have been numerous other times that I have seen the power of the wind. And the Bible is full of stories about the wind and how it can create damage. There are also the references to the Holy Spirit and how it blows like a wind – not knowing where it came from or where it was headed. But one of the most compelling stories was when the disciples were in their boat, Jesus was asleep and a violent wind came up. The disciples feared for their lives and woke Jesus. Jesus, questioning their faith, rebuked the wind and the disciples wondered who this was who could control nature.
The second time this kind of situation occurred, the disciples proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God – having learned about Him and accepted the fact that Jesus was, in fact, sent by His Father. The verse for this evening highlights the ease with which Jesus harnessed the wind and controlled nature. We are told, in Mark 4:39, “He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.”
Such was the power of Jesus. Not only men, but nature obeyed Him. My encouragement tonight is that Jesus is all powerful and He wants to use that power to change your life. My prayer is that you will acknowledge the ability of God to know your every thought and to have control over everything – including the wind and the rest of nature. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…