March Winds (March 2010)
Posted by RhondaOn the average, March is known for being the windiest month in the year. I am sure everyone is familiar with the phrase “March Winds.” It is no coincidence that the windiest month comes during the month transitioning from winter to spring. The contrast between cold and warm air causes pressure. When a difference in pressure exists the air is accelerated from a higher to a lower pressure. Pressure is the weight of the air above a given location. High pressure causes the air to sink and low pressure causes air to rise. When the air lowers to the ground and has nowhere else to go it spreads out horizontally and replaces the air that is rising and begins to move across the earth’s surface in a form called wind. The greater the difference between areas of high and low pressure and the shorter the distance over which the pressure changes the harder the wind blows.
The wind has always amazed me and is somewhat of a mystery because although we know it exists we cannot see it. We can feel the slight touch of the wind brush against our skin or see the slight sway of a leaf or bush that has succumbed to the affects of a gentle wind. We can also see the affects of that same gentle wind in its strongest form and experience the devastating effects of a tornado or hurricane. Even still, in its strongest form the wind can assist in carving structures by movement of erosion. Strong winds have assisted in forming some of the natural wonders of the world, such as the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Old Man of the Mountain in New Hampshire. The wind destroys structures that oppose it, yet it will not destroy those things that bend and yield to it.
Man cannot control the movement of the wind. The wind blows where it wants and we can hear the sound of it and see its affect on people and things to let us know that it is present. The wind reminds me of the Scriptures in John 3:5-8 (New King James Version Bible), “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 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.” Like the wind, the Spirit cannot be seen, but the results of receiving the Spirit certainly can be seen. We can easily see the effects of the Spirit’s transforming work that can be done in our lives and in the lives of others. The Spirit lives and flourishes in a vessel that bends and yields to its presence. However, the Spirit cannot work in a vessel that opposes it.
The Spirit’s work is sovereign, and He touches whom He will and cultivates gifts as He transforms individuals. He is the same wind that the disciples experienced on the day of Pentecost. “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:1-2, KJV).
During my journey as a Christian I have learned many ways in which the Spirit has worked in my life. My experiences have given me a better understanding of how the refreshing wind of the Holy Spirit can guide my heart and mind. As we continue on the journey set before us as Christians our experiences should teach us that we cannot control the wind of the Holy Spirit any more than we can control the wind that blows upon the earth.
The wind of the Holy Spirit is constantly guiding, directing and seeking to do a perfect work in us. The wind of the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit when we are wrong, speak wrongly, when we do not demonstrate love and in everything we do and the way we live. He gently guides us, so that we will do the things and live the life that God wants us to. When we relinquish our attempt to control the wind of the Spirit, He will then become our leader, and we will become His follower. In the same way, with our faith and trust in God, we can live our lives with the expectation that we will experience the good affects of the wind of the Spirit who lives in each believer. Allow the Spirit to bring a cool refreshing breeze that produces a calm that fills our souls with the longing to become more like Jesus. As we submit to the calming Spirit and the gentle whisper of the wind within us, He will make something beautiful of our lives. He will impart a crisp, clean and sensitive desire in us to seek the things of God and to seek His Word. The Spirit is like a cool breeze that comforts and refreshes us like a refreshing drink of well water on a hot summer day.
When the winds of March toss us to and fro there is a secret place we can go to find refuge from the strong winds. The refuge we must seek is in the face of our Father. We must also look to Jesus and the Spirit who is called the Comforter. Jesus is the gift from our Father, and the Comforter is the gift from Jesus. When we receive the precious gift from Jesus and bend to the gentle breeze of the Spirit a time of refreshing will come.
