Listen to the wind,
Wonder what it’s sayin'”
–Bob Nolan

“God hides his work beneath a series of imperceptible events, both in grace and nature, and thus he subjects us to the mysteries of faith.”
–Fenelon

I’ve heard the wind howl while on the mountaintop. I’ve heard it moan through the trees while relaxing in the meadow near a cool stream. I’ve been through the hurricane with the winds blowing continually and I’ve barricaded myself in the onslaught of the twisting tornado. I’ve felt the force of the wind in the blizzard as its icy breath tears through the body like a knife. I’ve camped in the forests when the force of the wind threatened to blow our camp off the mountain.
The wind can bring devastation or it can bring sweet relief on a hot day. Imagine sitting by a nice stream, flowing over small cataracts with the soft, cooling breeze. Here the wind is not raging, but soothing, bringing relief. In all of that, what is the wind saying? Is it whispering or is it howling? Does it bring relief, or does it bring angst? This is March–the month of the wind. Kites will fly, but there may also be storms.
My wife always tells me of the first time I took her to Colorado. We had one of those winds blow down through the canyons. She thought the house was going to blow down, and perhaps she thought that’s what life with me would be like–a rushing wind. Hmmm, you’ll have to ask her whether it has or not.
From where does the wind come? Where does it go? There are the continual high winds of the jet stream which blow in a general direction, but always changing. They bring changes in the weather, thus affecting nature and man. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is similar to the wind. He is mystical, and He knows the ways of the Father. “The wind blows where it likes, you can hear the sound of it, but you have no idea where it comes from and where it goes. Nor can you tell how a man is born by the wind of the Spirit.” (John 3:8, Phillips)
It is pertinent to realize that the wind is one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit. We can hear it, we can see what it does, but we do not know its ways. The same is true of the Spirit. We hear Him speaking, often in different ways, we see the result of the Spirit’s work, but why does He does He do the things He does? Why does He allow this and not that? The Spirit works in mysterious ways. He forced Jesus into the wilderness; we balk at that, but He often does the same thing to us.
Listen to the “Wind”…

March–in like a lion, out like a lamb. The winds do blow and howl and the storms rage. It doesn’t have to be the month of March. It doesn’t even have to be a natural storm, but it can be one of the soul, of the spirit. Life on the sin-tossed sea is often raging. There is no rest and no hope. But, when the soul finds Jesus, the raging storm of the soul ceases and we can rest in Him.

“My soul in sad exile was out on life’s sea;
So burdened with sin and distressed,
Till I heard a sweet voice saying, ‘Make me your choice,’
And I entered the Haven of Rest.”
–H. L. Gilmore

At first we might try and fight the waves and storms in our own strength. Soon, however, the strength of the body and soul gives way to the assailing storm. We can’t handle life anymore and are soon to be undone, wrecked, and in despair. Then Jesus comes….

“I yielded myself to His tender embrace,
And faith taking hold of the Word,
My fetters fell off, and I anchored my soul;
The Haven of Rest is my Lord.

The song of my soul, since the Lord made me whole,
Has been the old story so blest,
Of Jesus who’ll save whosoever will have
A home in the Haven of Rest.”

Now when the storm rages; when the tempest tests our very being; when the devil rises up against us, it is no longer our feeble arms that work, but the strong arm of the Lord. He holds us and shields us and at the same time either speaks to the storm or wards it off with His other arm. We can rest secure no matter the challenges of life, in the Haven of Rest.

“How precious the tho’t that we all may recline,
Like John the beloved and blest,
On Jesus’ strong arm, where no tempest can harm,
Secure in the Haven of Rest.

O come to the Savior, He patiently waits
To save by His power divine;
Come, anchor your soul in the Haven of Rest,
And say, ‘My Beloved in mine.'”

No more do we walk unwearyingly through life. No more do we drift, not knowing where we are bound. No more do we fear the storms that come our way. The chorus, so powerful, yet so soothing to the soul, helps us realize that truly we are SAFE in the Haven of Rest.

“I’ve anchored my soul in the Haven of Rest,
I’ll sail the wide seas no more;
The tempest may sweep o’er the wild stormy deep;
In Jesus, I’m safe evermore.”