John 3:8 “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 Spirit.” 

I have been enamored with the Greek and Hebrew words Ruah and Pneuma since college. Both of these words translate: Spirit, wind, breathe & inner life. The implications of God breathing into dust to create Adam, God creating by speaking things into being, Jesus breathing on his disciples telling them to receive the Holy Spirit are glorious to ponder.

I love the similarities with the wind and the Spirit, you can’t see it, but you can feel it. You can’t stop it, but you can use it to propel you. Wind can also be very destructive like we see in tornados and hurricanes. Salt air brings a whole new perspective to the power of air.

The air we breathe is God sustaining us with his Spirit. For me, breathing in salt air amplifies that sense. There is something about it that helps me relax, calm down, or re-center.  But… Salt air can also be incredibly, and silently destructive. Fishing rods, beach chairs, anything metal must have the salt air rinsed off when we get home from the beach or they will rust and corrode. 

Sometimes the Spirit works in powerful gusts, sometimes quietly over a period of time. Sometimes the Spirit empowers and refreshes us, sometimes the Spirit purifies us from our sin.  All of God’s work through the Spirit is to change us to be more like the people God created us to be.

Take a few minutes on each of these:

How has the Spirit empowered you?

Think about the salt air. What about it do you like? How is it really God’s presence?

What has God working to change in you either by powerful gusts or a slow silent change?