The Holy Spirit Is Moving in Our Lives

　　By Whitney Hopler

　　Bible Reading:

　　“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 3:8, NIV

　　When I left a grocery store one day in March, I was hit by surprise with the force of a strong wind. My shopping cart rolled away after I let go of it by my car. I chased it through the parking lot and rolled it back to my car so I could start loading the groceries inside. But as I did so, a gust of wind blew over my shopping bags, picking up a package of paper towels and sending it airborne. So, I chased the paper towels as well – and by the time I was ready to get in the car myself, I had to pull my hardest to close the door against the forceful wind.

　　March often features strong, unpredictable winds. These wind gusts happen when cold air and warm air meet, as the seasons change from winter to spring. March winds remind us of the unseen forces at work in our world. In John 3:8, Jesus uses the imagery of the wind to illustrate the Holy Spirit. The strong winds of March can inspire us to pay attention to the Holy Spirit’s movement in our lives.

　　The wind is unpredictable. We can’t fully understand it, and we can’t tame its wild ways. The wind seems to appear out of nowhere and vanishes without warning. In the same way, the Holy Spirit operates beyond the limits of our human understanding. When Nicodemus struggled to understand the concept of being “born again,” Jesus used the wind to explain how the Spirit moves according to God’s will, not our expectations.

　　This reminds us that the Holy Spirit works in ways that may confuse or surprise us, yet those ways are always for good purposes. Just as we trust the wind’s presence without seeing where it comes from or where it’s going, Jesus calls us to trust the Holy Spirit – even when we can’t predict how God’s Spirit will move in our lives. The wind can be both gentle and fierce, and so can the Holy Spirit, who shows up both to give us quiet guidance and to bring dramatic change into our lives. The Bible describes in Galatians 5:22-23 how the Holy Spirit helps us individually learn how to grow in holiness by developing qualities called “the fruit of the Spirit”. In Acts 2, the Bible describes the Holy Spirit’s arrival as a “sound like the blowing of a violent wind,” symbolizing the power that would help Jesus’ disciples to spread the Gospel around the world.

　　We may encounter the Holy Spirit as quiet encouragement to forgive someone, through a persistent nudge to step out in faith, or during an awe-inspiring encounter that changes the course of our lives. Whether we experience the Holy Spirit in subtle or striking ways, the Spirit’s power helps us live out God’s purposes for us.

　　On a hot day, a cool breeze refreshes us physically. The Holy Spirit renews us spiritually. Just as the wind can clear away stifling heat, the Spirit clears away our burdens of sin and fear, replacing them with peace and hope. When we feel discouraged, we can ask the Spirit to breathe new life into us to revive our hearts and minds.

　　Just like sailors rely on the wind to guide their boats, the Holy Spirit guides us through life. If we’re paying attention to the Spirit’s leading, we gainthe discernment we need to move in the best directions, which will lead us closer to God. But we need to surrender control to the Spirit to experience his full power. Just as a sailor must give up control to the wind, we must release our own plans and trust the Spirit to lead us toward God’s best for us.

　　The physical winds that blow around us in God’s creation can inspire us to pay attention to how the Holy Spirit is moving in our lives. When we do pay attention to the Spirit, we can be refreshed and renewed in powerful ways!

　　Intersecting Faith Life:

　　As you consider how the Holy Spirit moves in your life, reflect on these questions:

　　How have you experienced the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your life?How can you better position yourself to sense the Spirit’s direction for your decisions?In what ways do you struggle to trust the Spirit’s leading, especially when you’re dealing with fear?Think about a time when the Spirit refreshed or renewed your faith. How can that inspire you to trust the Spirit more going forward?Further Reading:

　　Acts 2:2

　　Galatians 5:25

　　Ezekiel 37:9

　　Isaiah 40:31

　　Romans 8:14

　　Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Lyndon Stratford

　　Whitney Hoplerhelps people discover God's wonder and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction booksWake Up to Wonder andWonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novelDream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at leading media organizations, including Crosswalk.com, The Salvation Army USA’s national publications, and Dotdash.com (where she produced a popular channel on angels and miracles). She currently leads the communications work atGeorge Mason University’s Center for the Advancement of Well-Being. Connect with Whitney on her website atwww.whitneyhopler.com, onFacebook, and onX/Twitter.

　　Check out fantastic resources on Faith, Family, and Fun at Crosswalk.com!

　　Related Resource: 3 Simple Steps to Manage Your EmotionsAre you tired of up-and-down feelings stealing your peace, sabotaging your relationships, and filling your mind with self-defeating thoughts? What if you had a proven emotional management tool to biblically respond to your feelings with compassion and clarity? Join us for today’s episode to discover three simple steps to manage emotions, reduce stress, improve decision-making, and grow closer to God. If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe to The Love Offering on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!