It was intriguing to me, as I sat observing the water at Lake Ontario for a few days, to see how the wind affected the water. At the lake, I noticed some days the wind caused slight ripples on the water, which made it go to the right and other days it made the water go to the left.
The wind causing water to flow to the right
The wind causing water to flow to the left
Isn’t the wind interesting? We cannot see the wind, yet we can sometimes see, feel, or hear its effects. At times, the wind can produce negative effects like the devastation caused by hurricane winds. Other times, the wind can have a positive effect like a gentle breeze on a summer day that cools and refreshes our skin.
Seeing the effect of the wind made me reflect on some parallels with God and our lives. Just like we observe in life sometimes the wind is portrayed negatively in the Bible and sometimes positively. In Scripture the wind, especially the positive aspects of it, is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. As you read the following passages, take time to reflect on the significance of the Holy Spirit representative of the wind.
What does Scripture tell us about the wind?
You (God) are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens; you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds. You make the clouds your chariot; you ride upon the wings of the wind. The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants. –Psalm 104:2-4 (NLT)
We learn from this psalm that God has a purpose for everything in the heavens. The wind that blows where He wills it contains messages of God’s great power and love. God has a purpose for everything in His creation.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! –Psalm 148:7-8 (ESV)
What a great psalm of praise showing that even the earth and all the elements of the weather fulfill God’s word! All of creation that God made praises their Creator.
The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses. –Psalm 135:6-7 (NLT)
What a powerful message the psalmist shares about the magnitude of the Lord’s dominion. God has complete sovereignty over all of heaven, earth, the seas, the skies, and everything! The wind comes and goes at the Lord’s command.
Photo courtesy of Leonard J Matthews under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)
How did God use the wind in Scripture to accomplish His purposes?
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and livestock with him in the boat. He sent a wind to blow across the earth, and the floodwaters began to recede. –Genesis 8:1 (NLT)
In the beginning, God destroyed the earth by sending a flood for forty days, followed by another hundred and fifty days before the waters receded. Only Noah, his family, and the animals were kept safe in the ark Noah built as God had instructed. What made the floodwaters begin to recede? The wind God had blow across the earth! Indeed, even the winds fulfill God’s purposes.
Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. –Exodus 14:21 (ESV)
When Moses was leading the Israelites into the Promised Land and trying to get away from the Egyptians, God sent a strong east wind all night, which made the sea dry up and divide. The Israelites crossed the sea safely, but the waters came back together when the Egyptians were crossing.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. –Acts 2:1-4 (NIV)
After Jesus died and was resurrected walking this earth for another forty days, He ascended into heaven sitting at the right hand of God. Ten days later the apostles were in a locked room when God used the sound of a violent wind blowing for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, which was Pentecost.
Photo courtesy of Leonard J Matthews under Creative Commons License (CC BY-ND 2.0)
This week, be encouraged to remember the wind, both earthly and in our lives…
…is under God’s reign.
…teaches us about God.
…fulfills God’s Word and purposes.
May the wind of the Holy Spirit in your life accomplish God’s purposes~
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. –Genesis 1:1-2 (NLT)
