“And the Lord God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and
man became a living being.”—Genesis
2:7
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, the Wind of
God, and the very Breath of God. It is interesting to note that in both the
Hebrew and Greek languages the same word in both have the same three
meanings. In the Hebrew, ruach means spirit, wind and breath. The
context in which the word is used dictates which word best fits. In the Greek, pneuma also means spirit,
wind and breath. When God formed Adam
of the dust of the ground, it was the breath of God that caused him to live. It is the same Spirit of God that causes us
to live this new life when we repent of our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord
and Savior. However, unless we are
constantly being replenished with His Life, we soon find that in ourselves our
natural reserves are limited and we become exhausted and have nothing more to
offer—we are worn out, breathless…winded.
Nearly a half-century ago, a Scottish pastor, James
S. Stewart, published a book of sermons that went by the title of the first sermon,
"The Wind of the Spirit." His text for that message was something the
Lord said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the
sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is
everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
In my opinion, Stewart's outline on this powerful truth
gives us an understanding of the depth of the Lord’s teaching about the Wind of the Spirit.
"The wind blows" = That
bare, simple statement affirms the ceaseless action of the Spirit. Never
has there been a time, never a moment, when the Spirit of God has not been
actively at work.
"The wind blows where it wishes" = This is
the sovereign freedom of the Spirit. Just as it is impossible to control
the wind or dictate its direction, so no man, no Church, can domesticate the
Spirit of God.
"...and you hear the sound of it" = This
is the indisputable evidence of the Spirit. He makes Himself evident, His
presence felt. You know the living God is at work in this place.
"...but cannot tell where it comes from" = This
is the inscrutable origin of the Spirit. We do not know what God has been
doing before beginning His work at this point and in this place, only that He
has.
"...and where it goes" = This is the
incalculable destiny of the Spirit. You cannot tell where He is liable to
carry you.
The Wind of
the Spirit is a resource for believers beyond all measure. The Spirit is God's
strength for our weakness, His sight for our blindness and His supply for our
need.
Some years ago, I was on a plane flying back from
Florida when the captain came on the intercom. He greeted everyone and said
what altitude that we were flying at and then said, “I thought you'd be
interested in knowing that we have a tailwind of 200 knots. This means that
instead of flying along at 400 miles an hour, we are doing something over 600."
He paused to let that sink in, and then said,
"A few minutes ago, the pilot of a plane headed in the opposite direction
said that same wind is a headwind to him. So, instead of doing 500, he's doing
300 miles an hour."
Resist the Lord and He becomes a headwind to us,
slowing us down, making our way hard. The Lord said to Saul of Tarsus, "It is hard for you to kick against the
goads" (Acts 9:5).
Go "with
the Wind of God" and we soon find we are being lifted and carried
along by an incredible power beyond ourselves. The best prayer any of us can
pray is the first one Saul prayed that day outside Damascus: "What do you want me to do?" (Acts
9:6).
This year I pray that you allow the Spirit of God to set your course and run with Him.
Prayer—Father
I repent of doing things my own way and in my own strength, I ask You to help
me Spirit of God and lead me in the pathway of life; help me to put my trust in
You and not in man. Lord I thank You
that You make Your presence known and that You will carry me through to my
final destination, in Jesus Name. Amen.
