Done With The Wind

Done With The Wind

It was still a full three weeks until the first day of Spring, but the weather had been so beautiful lately that you couldn’t tell it was still officially Winter. It was early afternoon and I had gone outside to take a couple of photographs of an area where a few days before I had cut down a large Hack Berry tree due to it’s having died in the severe drought of last year. Upon hearing a familiar sound, I began looking upward examining the skies for the flock of geese that I knew was somewhere overhead. It didn’t take long before I spotted a rather large flock circling round and round, taking a break from flying against a strong north wind that was blowing that day. Eventually, they formed a V shape again and proceeded in a northerly direction. It wasn’t long before they again paused and began to circle around. It was obvious that they were having a difficult time making headway against the wind.

Before they got out of sight, another, smaller flock came from the same direction. They too were struggling against the wind. And, then, off in another direction I heard the honking sound again. Turning around, I saw yet a third flock, fighting the wind in order to make slow progress. It was a good 10 to 15 minutes from the time that I first heard the sound until the last goose was out of sight.

Just two days later, I had walked down the driveway and retrieved the mail from the mail box and was starting back to the house when I heard more honking sounds. I spotted a fairly large flock of geese, still to my south, but moving rapidly in a northerly direction. Within about 30 to 45 seconds, they were out of sight. The difference: there was a very strong wind blowing from the south on that day. These geese were riding the wind and barely flapping their wings at all and yet were making tremendous progress in the direction that they wanted to go. I couldn’t see the wind on either day, yet it was easy to see that it was making a big difference in the efforts of the geese flying north.

In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus has a conversation with a man name Nicodemus, in which Jesus compares the operation of the Holy Spirit to the blowing of the wind. Jesus said,

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 5:8)

While I couldn’t see the wind blowing, either from the north or the south, it was very easy to see the effects of the wind on the geese, all of whom were flying in the same direction. There was no

difference in the geese, but there was a tremendous difference in the progress they were making. I had to conclude that the difference was due to the influence of the invisible wind.

In the same way, we can’t see the Holy Spirit as He works in a person’s life, but it is very obvious that changes are taking place. The presence and the power of the Holy Spirit enables a person to be something that he might not otherwise be, or to do something that he did not think he could do, or to understand something that was previously difficult to comprehend (especially when it relates to the person and working of God).

The geese who were flying against the strong north wind and the ones who were flying with the brisk south wind were all striving for the same goal, but there was a tremendous difference in the effort needed to produce the desired result. In the same way, a Christian who attempts to do the will of God, will find that he makes more and easier progress whenever the Holy Spirit is in control; instructing, empowering, enlightening and inspiring the child of God to persevere even though the opposition may be strong.  

The Apostle Paul knew that the Christians living in Rome in his day were facing tremendous opposition as they attempted to live a Godly life. To encourage and instruct them, he said;

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”.    (ROMANS 15:13)

Just as the south wind provided a tremendous increase in the speed of the geese going north, an “overflow” of the Holy Spirit will provide the power and presence that any Christian needs to live the life that pleases God and produces results.

God Bless and Godspeed to one and all.