Wind

And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. - Mark 4:39

When was the last time you licked your finger and thrust it into the air to see which way the wind was blowing? Or when was the last time you shrieked upon seeing a windsock indicating an East wind? And if that windsock were to change to indicate a West wind, would you breathe a sigh of relief?

Throughout the Scriptures, an East wind was predominately a precursor to destruction. Whether this destruction was to come by famine (Gen 41:27) or locusts (Ex. 10:13) or captivity (Isa. 27:8) or withering (Eze. 19:12) or drought (Ho. 13:15), an East wind rarely meant anything good. Every once in a while we get the East wind parting and drying seas to allow the people of God to pass through safely.(Ex. 14:21) A West wind on the other hand should remind us of deliverance. Feel that wind on your face and rejoice that the locusts are being swept into the sea. (Ex. 10:19)

If you are not used to tracking where the wind is actually coming from, this might be a difficult exercise. But while you are developing your wind-direction-sense, you can always remember Noah and the wind that dried the floodwaters. (Gen 8:1)

You should also remember that the Spirit of God is like the wind, blowing wherever he wishes. He invades rooms (Acts 2:2) and he invades souls. (Joh 3:8) He does not relent until he gains entrance. The wind can make palm trees bow to the ground and in a like manner the hearts of men follow suit. Always remember though that the wind shakes the trees; the trees do not create the wind. This truth tends to destroy spiritual pride.

Do not chase the wind though, for that is vanity. I am not, of course, referring to the Spirit of God now. Instead I am speaking of the wind as the fleeting pleasures of this life. Just as the wind blows once and is gone, so is life apart from the hope of resurrection. The wind is the pursuit of fools (Ec. 1:14) and the inheritance of the disobedient (Pr. 11:29) Men who spend their life accumulating and becoming weightless things will be swept away by the wind like so much dust and chaff.

The same wind that can bring wreck to a ship and its crew is speechless at the rebuke of Jesus. Those who were there began to see the implications: “Who is this that the wind and the waves obey him?” (Mr. 4:39-41)

If you decided to be driven along by every wind that came your way I imagine it would not be long before you were locked up. So is the man who has his doctrinal finger moistened and pointing skyward. He never wants to be a step behind the latest theological trend. However, if a man would be rooted in the Truth, the winds will blow themselves silly, while he stands unmoved. (Eph. 4:14)

And finally, lets us not forget the angels. (Ps. 104:4) The wind ought to remind us that God is active in his world; many times through his messengers and servants, the angels.

Go find some wind and tell your kids what it means.