There's Something in the Wind

God has something to say to us. There's something in the wind. We have been praying, we have been asking for the Presence of God in our midst: Let the gifts be manifest. Give the prophets much to say. Breathe on us, Holy Spirit. Breathe life into our churches, into our families, into these dry bones.

Ezekiel 37:9: Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: 'Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.' " 

O breath of God, come from the four winds! We prophesy, "Breathe on us, Holy Spirit!"

We rightly pray for these things, but let's discern the Wind of the Spirit, the breath of God. John 3:8 says, "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."  We have been born of the Spirit, and now we are borne (carried about) by that same Spirit. So let's discern the wind of the Spirit and let Him carry us. Let's discern what the Spirit is saying and turn our sails to catch the wind.

There's something in the wind, something palpable. Do you feel it?  It's stirring in us, a fresh wind, something new, something filled with life and purpose. It won't fit into our present understanding, our church structures, even our theology. He's breathing in life and revelation, and blowing away dead flesh and darkness. It's different, unexpected, outside our paradigms. It doesn't look like anything we've seen, we don't have the language to describe it.

The life-breath of God, His Holy Spirit, is blowing in. Do you feel it? The four winds are blowing into our midst. We need to get ready, we need to be prepared for quick adjustments to remain in the current, the favorable winds. We need to be able to drop what we are doing at a moment's notice and set out in the direction He takes us.

Some of us like to play with the Spirit. We dabble. We love the pleasantness of His presence. But the Spirit is also saying, "Play time is over, time to get serious. The stakes are high, this is for all the marbles." Christianity lite is over. Fair-weather faith is over. Game-playing is over. 

Do you feel it? The wind is stirring.

Like the church in Acts 5 which trembled at the Presence of God in their midst, the time is coming when we will tremble at the manifest glory. Serious, but filled with joy. Somber, but celebratory. Circumspect, but focused and determined. Awe-struck, but light hearted. Filled with holy fear, but smiling and rejoicing.