05May05

John 3:8
"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Yesterday we had a pretty heavy wind storm here on Camp Stanley. It blew over multiple trees, one of which landed directly on my barracks building next to my window at midnight. The workmen showed up and started chain sawing it up soon after and I could sleep much at all. But, I started to think about the wind. How powerful. How unassuming. How little I think about the wind until it affects something around me.

We feel the wind and know it is there but, most of the time it is not an interference in our lives. Yet, it is an extremely powerful force of nature. It can rip trees from the ground, grind rocks to dust over time, and literally move mountains in the desert. But, I don't even pay attention to it day by day. It's like that with the spirit. We can go through our day and completely ignore its presence. We can simply discount its existence on most days. But, sometimes it starts blowing over trees in our roads. Some days it grabs our coattails and pulls us one way or another. Some days it simply will not be ignored.

And yet, do we only want to acknowledge the Spirit of God on the days when it is moving in power or do we want to be knowledgeable of its movements every day? It's like the wind that way. I can always feel the wind if I pay close enough attention. I can feel it out and sense its direction if I give it effort. It can drive us and direct us every single day. Take a moment and stand in the wind today. Will you follow the Spirit's guidance or does He have to knock over a tree to get your attention?