The Wind

I climbed into bed last night hoping for a good night of rest before church in the morning.  It has been a long week....a good week to say the least....but a week so full that I know I need some good rest.  As I began to drift off to sleep I heard the sounds of the wind blowing through the trees outside of my apartment.  The breeze sounded strong as if some type of storm would be passing through.  And in my mind I thought, "Ah, yes, the winds of change."

This is a season of change.  So much has changed in a very short period of time.  I am finding myself drawn to the Lord so strongly.  I am sure that His peace has been guiding and directing the steps that I am taking.  I am sure that I am right where He wants me to be.  It's funny how you can hope for something for what seems like your entire life and then when it comes, along with it comes the realization that this picture is so much bigger, so much more intricately planned, and so desperately reliant on the Lord.

At church this morning, the pastor began to talk about the wind....and the effects of it as it creates debris and removes old, dead branches from large trees.  He compared it to our lives and the wind of God's Spirit.  Using 1 Corinthians 6:9-11....he began to talk about the debris in our lives...the things we used to do, the unhealthy lifestyles, the disappointments, the hurts, etc.  These were the things that kept us from the kingdom of God.  But verse 11 says, "And that is what some of you were.  But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God."  

For the past two days I have thought about this very thing.  And I have sensed the Lord asking me if I trust Him.  Of course, I want to say yes right away...because in many ways I do.  In so many ways, I have been able to trust the Him and to let go of the past.  But I think the hardest part is being able to move forward without fear.  If there is any kind of obvious debris in my life I think it would have to do with that.  I don't want to be afraid to love fully and to receive it in return.  I don't want to be afraid to run after what God has put in my heart to do.  I don't want to be afraid of the thoughts of others.  I want to be free of fear.

And so this wind...this refreshing, strong, and steady wind...is blowing through my life.  And I am seeing it's effects.  It is causing those things that should not be here anymore to fall away.  It is clearing the way for new life to begin.  And I am so thankful.