A Rushing Wind

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"And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting."

Acts 2:2, ESV

This past weekend was extremely windy here in Virginia. I found it lots of fun, aside from the fact that I just raked my lawn, and it now looks worse than ever. Still, I love the beauty of the little leaf cyclones flying around the neighborhood and how cozy it makes the inside of the house feel.

Squirrel, of course, is terrified. He refuses to even go outside in it, until need outweighs fear, at which point he scoots out to do his business as quickly as possible and then rushes back inside with his tail between his legs.

(As a side note, it might behoove the UPS man to start playing a wind noise from his phone when he comes with deliveries. That way Squirrel would run and hide in the bathroom instead of imitating Cujo at the front door.)

I wonder how the disciples felt when the Holy Spirit filled the room like a "mighty rushing wind?" Did they see it as beautiful or terrifying? Both? The story in the book of Acts is comfortable to read from an armchair in the living room, but what was it like to live it?

I can make the Father, Son, and, especially, the Spirit too tame. Oh yes, God is love, and He is good, but he is also mighty, wild, and uncontrollable.

Maybe the correct response to the movement of God's Spirit is somewhere between my response and Squirrel's. We shouldn't get to comfortable or "buddy buddy" with the idea of the Holy Spirit, but nor do we need to hide in terror and miss out on all that the Spirit is doing. A November storm is impersonal and indiscriminately wreaks havoc where it may; the wind of God is passionately for us.

I pray that the while the windy weather stays outside, the wild breath of God whips through my home, blowing away things that are holding me back, overturning things that need to be revealed, and breathing excitement into my day.

It may make my hair a mess, but it will leave my heart ready to follow His Spirit's wild leadings.