breath of wind

It's that kind of wind today that makes your hair slap your face. You can almost lean into it and not fall. When I hear the roar of wind at night especially, a sense of unsettled nervousness shivers through me. The trees swirl wildly above my head, and I want to escape into a silent room without windows.

In a desperate attempt to gain a better perspective on this God-made power, I searched for what Joni Eareckson Tada once said on the radio about wind. I couldn't find it. (Can you help me?) Instead I read John Piper's sermon The Free Will of the Wind.

"The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." John 3:8 (See Piper's sermon for context on the verse.)

Jesus compared the work of God's Holy Spirit to wind...how it moves, creating results. Wind is invisible, yet so powerful. You see the window picture at the top of this page? Wind broke that window. But that's beside the point. Actually, this sermon shared four points.

1. ...wind blows where it wishes... When we are born again, believing in Jesus, His Spirit lives in us. And His Spirit indwelling in us is free, just like wind. "The wind blows where it wills and gives life and faith."
2. ...you hear the sound of it... Wind has effects. The Spirit moves, and we will see His work.
3. ...we don't know where it comes from... We just know it doesn't come from us. God causes new birth, and we don't know how (Mark 4:26-27).
4. ...we don't know where it goes... We don't know its destination, either.

Piper said, "Today there are two basic responses to what Jesus says in John 3:8. One is threatened by it. And the other is thrilled by it. To some it feels threatening because it takes the new birth out of our control and makes us feel helpless. But to others this is thrilling, because they have already discovered they are helpless."

As I go hoe the garden now, I hope I can take a big breath of 30 mph wind and be reminded of His Spirit living and breathing in me.