The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the [Holy] Spirit. John 3:8 ESV

By: Scott Schuler

The thrill of sailing is magnified when the boat heels or leans into the water due to a driving wind that thrusts the vessel through the waves. When fully engulfed by the winds, sails empower the boat to move without an engine, utilizing a force that cannot be seen, but only felt. The once idle hull can now shift into the purpose for which it is created, moving against the odds with the wind, rather than against it.

As mysterious and powerful as the wind that empowers the sail is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. John 14:26

The Holy Spirit is always moving and working in our lives! He is drawing us to Jesus, the Son. His role is to teach and encourage us how to walk with Jesus in relationship:

Now we have received not the spirit [the enemy, Satan] of the world, but the Spirit [Holy Spirit] who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. 1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV

The work of the Holy Spirit is vast yet personal, mysterious and sometimes quiet but convicting (revealing God’s truth) and always cultivating.

The Holy Spirit takes up spiritual residence within us at salvation, but that does not mean we automatically are complete and free from our frustrations and sinful patterns. That erroneous mind-set contradicts the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, which is a lifelong process of becoming less of our self and more of Jesus (John 3:30).

Sanctification sets us apart from sin to purify our hearts, through the Holy Spirit’s work. This is what it looks like to be holy. And it is the constant work of the Holy Spirit, mysteriously moving in His own way through our lives, not unlike the wind moving through the landscape.

When the sailing vessel turns too hard into the wind, or away from it, the sails begin to flutter revealing that the full force of the winds power is not utilized and the boat begins to slow down. The boat’s direction must be continuously adjusted along with the tension on the sails if the captain desires to maximize the wind’s power.

The same holds true in our walk with Jesus. We must constantly adjust our attitude, thoughts and actions, leaning into Jesus daily through prayer, God’s Word and fellowship with other believers, if we desire to capture the power of the Holy Spirit’s wind moving through our spiritual heart.

Do you recognize the Holy Spirit moving in and through you? Take time to walk a wooded path, sit by a breezy lake, or watch the wind blow the fall leaves. Talk to God and ask Him to reveal the mysterious Holy Spirit to you.

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