Lenten Devotion: 3-8-16
Tuesday,
March 8, 2016
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Acts 2:1-2
Thoughts:
The Holy Spirit is often symbolized by wind, fire, or a dove. Each of these is, in some way, associated with moving air. Wind is moving air. Fire requires oxygen to burn, and a dove floats on the unseen currents above.
In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and New Testament, respectively, the words most often translated into our English word spirit are ruach (Hebrew) and pneuma (Greek); both can also be translated as wind or breath.
The wind that blows around us each day is a reminder of God’s presence, God’s spirit. Sometimes it blows as a gentle breeze, and sometimes with the force of a hurricane. God sometimes speaks to us in gentle cadences of peace and quiet, and sometimes with Pentecost force, moving us into positions we did not expect and may not wish to occupy.
However the wind of God’s spirit engages us, it is for our good, never for our harm. Listen, can you hear the wind now? What is it calling you to do? What is God’s Spirit calling us to do? The wind is always present, always blowing. May we find ways to hear and respond to God’s Spirit, whether gentle or with Pentecost power, as it calls to us and beckons us to follow.