“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

We had the opportunity to steal away for a weekend at a cabin in the mountains. The respite was much-needed and tremendously restful.


The Lord used that time to speak into my heart by visually demonstrating Scripture. Jesus tells us in this passage that, like the wind, we cannot control how the Holy Spirit will work in us. The gift of the Spirit is from our Heavenly Father and we can only accept it. I’ve thought about how the Spirit changes us, but sometimes, it’s a hard concept to grasp.

As I sat on the deck during that mountain retreat, I was greeted with a spectacle as the wind created a dance on the hills for me to see. And, wouldn’t you know, the Lord used that picture to open my eyes to the Scripture I was studying:

Like a competing symphony, the wind blows from one side of the mountain to the other. Mere yards from each other, the trees to the left dance and bow, then settle while the trees to the right begin to shudder.

You hear the sound as it makes its way down the hill, mimicking the noise of a roaring river as it flows downstream. Its power unknown as it rumbles beneath the surface. Only the tumbling waves are visible as the undercurrent powers it from below.

Thus it can be with the Holy Spirit. If we ask, pray and surrender to be led by it, our lives will take the turn of a mighty river, flowing and lining up with His will and purpose. The undercurrent turning, shaping, molding and changing as we transform from beneath the surface, from our depths – resulting in a new person with a new purpose. As He told us, only by the power of the Holy Spirit can we change.