The Wind of the Spirit.

Unlike the summer (!!) that has now passed, my family and I have often enjoyed some excellent weather conditions.  There have also been holidays during which we have experienced greatly varying climatic conditions.

On one such, in Germany, we were all lying on the grass at the side of the Unterbachersee - a large loch near to the city of Dusseldorf.  Suddenly, the sky clouded over, and the strength of the wind increased sharply.  As we joined the fast-moving throng that was hurriedly departing, and made our way back to our caravan, the wind had become so fierce that the very branches were being torn from the trees!  At the same time, some brave (foolhardy?!) young men were windsurfing across the loch, and doing so at a tremendous rate of knots.

About ten days later, we were lying on the grass at an outdoor swimming-pool in Erlangen, not far from the city of Nürnberg, famous as the location of the massive Nazi rallies - and of the post-war trials of Nazi leaders such as Göring, Hess, and von Ribbentrop. The sun was blazing down on us from a clear, blue, sky and, at the same time, a gentle breeze was blowing over us, making the heat bearable.

I recall thinking about God the Holy Spirit.  Jesus' words, as recorded in John 3:8, sprung to mind: "The wind blows wherever it pleases.  You hear the sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from, or where it is going."

As with the wind at the Unterbachersee, God the Holy Spirit sometimes comes with force.  It was so on the first Pentecost of the Christian era.  "Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven ..." (Acts 2:2).  He drives us forward like those young men on their surf-boards; at times, He has to break us, even as the branches were broken off the trees.

At other times, He comes gently, and comfortingly - "Soft as the breath of even" (Harriet Auber).  Like the breeze at Erlangen, He soothes and caresses; enabling us to bear "... the burden of the work, and the heat of the day." (Mt.20:12).

However He deals with us, let us be open to His continuing moving in our lives - influencing our every thought; our every word; our every action.  Let us seek His guidance, safe in the knowledge that He loves us, and that He desires to use us to touch others with His love, and fill them with His power.