Continuing in Hope: Life in the Holy Spirit

"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." (John 3:8)

To continue onward in the message of hope, continual hope, I would like to encourage myself and you about the Holy Spirit's breath. How important it is to have in us this power. It's encouraging to think this power is in us!! In you, in me, this gentle breeze blowing. This is for those who need it, the Holy Spirit comes to help to us all, to comfort us and to teach us, but it's not a reward !! It's power is not available for those who are more spiritual than others: or those who are in certain 'positions' in the body of Christ, it's for all - it's a gift that God has given us, each of us. Breath of God, given freely to us, sent to help all.

The way He works is different as this verse says, different in you and different in me. Those who say He only works and only moves in a certain way don't understand this. As in let's say, denominational principles, meetings. He is continually there for us. However, we simply can't identify how exactly the winds blow, or from what direction it comes from. It's not a formula, but sadly man often has thought that they could formulate the direction and strength of this wind from God. But seriously, can you "catch the wind" ? Can u "catch the fire" ? Just attend charismatic meetings and you will soon realize that their meetings are all similar - as if the wind is always blowing from the same direction I guess :) Typically at the end of the meetings. :) I have even seen others "blow" that wind towards their audience LOL. They feel they have "caught" the wind and understood how and where the wind is blowing, from what direction . Just how exactly do we "catch the spirit, or catch the fire?" You mean we can catch the wind? As I discover who He is and Him in me and Him in you, I realize that it is He that has captured me and embraced me. But I understand less how this has occurred and what has made this reality continually possible in my life.

People who say and demand that God's Holy Spirit work only in a certain way, almost methodical in a sense, simply haven't grasped this. I haven't grasped it either I must say (I haven't caught the wind) but I am willing to yield to Him, yield my heart to Him, yield my sin to Him, and as we do, we are able to the live in the deepening discovery that the "wind blows where it will". I am delighted that it is God who is in the wind ! It's not me! Let's not limit God to one another and try to explain to others the way exactly that the wind blows, for the wind blows where it wishes. God is not after our understanding of spiritual matters, He is simply after our heart.

Hey, did u ever hear the saying, 'so and so is chasing after the wind' ? What they are saying is that there is a sense of futility in what they are doing and the effort they are making. That there is not really any hope that they will eventually capture the wind so to speak and succeed in their efforts :)

God understands our need moment by moment. More than we do. He is interested in us and wants to come, oh how He wants to come, and breathe upon us and help us! He understands that we get discouraged and that we get heavy laden. But the only way to truly live is to live through His breath in us, in these moments . Paul said to the believers in Acts 19, "Have you received the Holy Spirit?" He was concerned for these believers and wonderful how Paul recognized that though they were believers, he was concerned in the sense that they hadn't received the Holy Spirit. He understood that without the Spirit all they would be able to rely on was their understanding of the scriptures, their understanding of what it meant to be spiritual and free in Him. Their understanding as ours is, is often rules, principles and traditions. Paul knew this all to well that there was no real life in that. They needed to be transformed deep from within to instead rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. They needed to have the Spirit guide them in the hope that they would grow up in God's grace and power. Paul wanted and relied on that for himself to simply be led by the Spirit. He did not rely on his teaching methods or his formulas to accomplish this. He saw this as an obstacle actually. He knew this was the one factor, "have you received the Spirit, necessary and from within, (it was not an external) He loved and cared deeply, and out of that place he wanted to encourage these sincere believers also. I often see my role in the body of Christ in a simple manner: as a nurturer in the sense that the Holy Spirit in myself, nurturing me, and so I simply want to nurture others to partake also of His presence within: onward in Christ.

So we encourage each other daily in the Spirit of God. It's not difficult to do if it's the reality that we are living in. We are freed up from relying on methods to simply instead yield to God. As we rely on Him, Him in each other, His power is effectually working, raising us up. We don't seek to do it for each other for we have understood or should I say we haven't yet understood the process, but nevertheless the wind is blowing still, and blowing where it will. As we can't see the direction it is coming from neither can we determine just where exactly it is travelling to. We hope in Him continually !