REFLECTIONS

Windy Days

Strong winds traveled its course from west to east in its journey through the country. It chilled already cool temperatures to uncomfortable levels, and its intensity increased with each passing hour. Shoppers returning to their cars with their wares leaned into its force with heads lowered and shoulders hunched still to be hindered by powerful gusts that staggered their balance. And conditions only worsened as the zealous wind made its way across the countryside.

The further east it traveled the more its fury raged. Tornados uprooted trees, stripped away rooftops, and ripped crops from cultivated fields. And its path of destruction showed little value for human life. So one can’t help but wonder why God allows such devastation.

Of all nature’s displays, perhaps none is more mysterious than wind. Jesus observed, “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.” (John 3:8) Yet the wind is one of God’s most utilized tools.

He uses it to stir the air, to spread life giving elements, to cleanse the earth, and to prepare the ground for new things. The wind adds excitement to our lives, it makes heat more bearable and cool feel more refreshing. Its presence adds challenge to adventure and danger to the ordinary. Windy days are often uncomfortable; but without a contrast, other days would become less appreciated. But windy days sometimes bring destruction.

That day when strong winds blew into our city marked the beginning of the season for windy days. It’s the season for trees to shed the remains of wintered leaves, for dead branches to be pruned, and for pollen to spread from budding flowers. God is the potter. And windy days are among God’s most useful tools for balancing the world.

Windy days are as surely a part of our lives as the rising sun. Most often they are refreshing to our lives, but sometimes discomfort or even trauma arise from them. But one thing is sure. The wind is an instrument in God’s tool box that we will never understand. And the mystery of God’s ways will remain for as long as the earth endures. Still, of this we can always find comfort:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org

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