Moved By the Spirit Wind

It rained last night, so as I sit on my porch this morning the world around me seems new and clean. Little drops of rain still clinging to green leaves surround me in glittering golden light. It dazzles like diamonds. The breeze intermittently blows – sometimes swaying the palm fronds of my potted plant, sometimes caressing my face. The breeze is fascinating. You cannot see it, but you know it is there. Thoughts of the wind and the Holy Spirit are rolling through my mind.

Jesus met with Nicodemus one night. Nicodemus had questions he wanted Jesus to answer, maybe without the scrutiny of the other Pharisees. Jesus told Nicodemus of a kingdom one cannot see unless he is born of the Spirit. Jesus said, “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” (John 3: 8). Truly, we cannot see the Spirit, but we can see how He moves around us and through us. We can tell the Spirit is there because of a person’s actions, their words, their attitudes, the way they live their lives. The Spirit moves people in different directions than the flow of the world. Can you look at your own life and see how the Spirit moves you? Maybe, like me, you see some places you need to open up to Him and allow Him the freedom to move you.

There is a river birch beside my porch. As I sit here this morning it is mostly still. But way at the top of the tree, there is this one little leaf flickering back and forth with all its might. It catches my eye as it rotates because no other leaf is stirring. Why that one? Where is the breeze that it only moves that one little leaf? The wind is mysterious. Maybe it is the way the leaf is positioned on the tree. It makes me think of myself. Am I positioning myself to be moved by the Holy Spirit? I want to be. All around me there are people who do not know my Jesus. All around me there are opportunities to move differently than the world. I want to be like the lone leaf showing that the Spirit is here, flickering with the light of truth, pointing the way to Christ. I want people to know what Nicodemus learned that night: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3: 16-17).

Sometimes we focus on the world and we forget to be still and look for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are easily distracted. But for those who believe and belong to Christ, one day the veil will be lifted from our eyes and we will see clearly what the Spirit has been doing all along. And like the Casting Crowns song says, we will know we were moved by the “Spirit Wind.” So stay focused on Him, follow where His Spirit leads you, and watch as He moves. You won’t be disappointed! But most importantly, you will pointing the way to Christ.

Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for secluding parts of my life and keeping the Holy Spirit out. Help me to overcome this tendency. Come into my heart and move me so that I can make more of Jesus to the world around me. Breathe Your Spirit Wind into my dry bones and give me strength and passion to do Your work. Thank You! In Jesus’ name, Amen!