June 15, 2009
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the house where they were sitting.
- Acts 2:2
I have always liked this image of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. I know that over the centuries the images of the dove and the tongues of fire have been portrayed more often in art, but I've always enjoyed the picture in my mind's eye of a gale force wind whipping the apostle's clothes around and blowing the women's hair into their faces. I imagine the thrill of hearing the whistling wind of the Spirit invade the hearts and minds of Jesus's followers, turning them into bold proclaimers of the gospel throughout the Roman world. For me, it's a more vibrant story of God first filling humanity with His breath, as He did with Adam at the dawn of creation.
Here in China this past Sunday, I was reminded of this image as I prayed during worship services. At my particular church, there is a time for personal prayer at the beginning of the service. Everyone generally bows their heads and whispers their prayers, but in such a small space with over 200 people, the whispers create a constant murmur, which sounds much like a breeze to my ears. A stronger gust of wind swept through the building at one point during the prayers, causing some windows to bang on their hinges. This called my mind back to the imagery of the first Pentecost.
The author of Acts describes the apostles as going out immediately after receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. They set out to proclaim the gospel in different tongues to the people present in their city for the festival. How often I have wished for a similar gift from God! The ability to communicate my faith to others in a way they can comprehend is a goal I want desperately to achieve. How marvelous it would be to hear the mighty rushing wind of the Holy Spirit and have it settle in my heart, enabling me to speak boldly and freely so that all might understand the joy I have received as a child of His grace!
For now, however, God has seen fit to allow me to stumble my way toward fluency. I am still a long way from my goal, but I can look back over all I have learned, both in the language and in my faith, and I am grateful for the struggle, for it has made my path now all the richer. I have not been filled with the "mighty rushing wind" of the Holy Spirit, but I have no doubt it has sustained me nonetheless. I have felt the steady wind of others' prayers beneath me, supporting me in my work here. I have discovered the soft breeze of the new friends I have made here, offering encouragement even as I falter and struggle to communicate with them. I have at times been blown over by the gales of love my students and colleagues have offered to me. Perhaps most importantly, when I have been at my lowest points, God has not come to me in "a great and strong wind [that] tore into the mountains," but in "a still, small voice" that has become my anchor in the storms (I Kings 19:11-12).
I am coming to the end of my fourth year in China, my first year in Zhangye. There is still much more to learn in the Chinese language and in my faith. I will therefore trust in the Holy Spirit to blow open the doors of my heart and to fill me once again with God's presence. May all of you also be filled with the mighty power of God's Spirit, and may you never forget that He always fills you, every moment, with His breath. Whether God whispers in a still, small voice, or shakes you to the foundations of your soul with his rushing wind, His Spirit never leaves you. May we all breathe in the very essence of life through Him, and may this wind of the Spirit transform us into bold proclaimers ourselves, willing to speak out about our faith in spite of the obstacles that might exist for communication. May we trust God to use the words that are created from our breath so that they may become the wind that stirs in others’ hearts.
Living amidst the gale of God's love,
Rae
The 2009 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 117 |
