Hi Everyone,
Last week I was sharing the gospel with a neighbor. When I probed on her resistance to receive and embrace Christ her response was, "I want to know what is next." You see, she wanted to remain in control. So today I read a verse I have known for years but it hit different today. John 3:8: "The wind blows where it wills." You hear sound but you don’t where it came from or where it is going- so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.
My response to her on ‘what’s next’ was, "I don’t know what will be next but what I do know is that being born again will answer the deepest desire of your heart." I was also honest that "what’s next" is a battle! But on a deeper level, we walk this life knowing the end-game but never knowing what’s next. We don’t know what’s going to hit positive or negative or regular. We just walk it out knowing He is God and we are not. Predictability is not the Christian life. Although, like my neighbor, we crave the predictable because we internally want to be in control. The Spirit in our lives is going to blow where it wills. It is directional and not random with a specific mission in mind for us, for others, and our relationship with others. I love what Paul stated: He learned the secret of being in what or in plenty.
To me, it is a ‘learned walk- a secret not commonly known’ to be steady in Christ smack dab in the midst of the unbelievable, unforeseen, unlikely, rapid fire change, apparent world collapse, suddenly’s that alter our personal lives on a dime. How do I do this "don’t fight the wind- don’t fight Him." Let the wind take me where it wills and live in the fresh breath of God.
As I write this I think, can I really do this? My answer is absolutely not if I depend on self or self will. It is only by grace and by daily intimacy with Christ so that when anything but predictable happens I know exactly who is in the wind and in charge of it. I even have a bit of a panic inside right now as I attempt to deeply embrace this truth. But I know that is enemy to counter that God is good ALL THE TIME!
Much love,
Cari