Last month, my wife and I traveled to our home state of Iowa for a family wedding, as well as to see all the members of each of our families. It was a wonderful and blessed time away. Besides being incredibly hot while there, I noticed that the landscape has changed dramatically since we were there last in January 2019 when my mother passed away. On many of the farms outside my little hometown, as well as in many other parts of my home state, are now these gigantic wind turbines (measuring some 280 feet high) with three blades, each measuring nearly 150 feet in length. You’ve probably seen these in your own travels as they are becoming more widely used in many parts of the country. Concerns continue to be raised about the impact of these wind turbines on bird and bat populations, among other things. The purpose of these gigantic structures is to harness the wind and use this energy to supply power for our ever-growing demand for electricity.

All of this got me thinking about wind driven energy, not just like that in the picture above, but in our journey of faith. In the church year, we are in the long season after Pentecost, which began with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that we celebrate each year on the festival of Pentecost (https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts+2&version=ESV). The word for the Spirit in the original language of the New Testament is pneuma, where we get out word “pneumatic,” meaning properties associated with air or gas. And the Old Testament word for the Spirit is ruah, which can mean both “spirit” or “breath.” Luther’s explanation of the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed puts it like this:

 I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true ( https://catechism.cph.org/en/creed.html).

Here is our wind-driven energy! It is the Holy Spirit “who calls us and keeps us in the one truth faith.” But just like with wind turbines, those blades are not always rotating. At times, they are standing still, depending on the wind. So it is with us. We do not control the wind; we simply respond to it. At times, the Spirit may propel us forward with powerful energy and strength to carry out the tasks of loving and serving others in Jesus’ Name. At other times, that same Spirit may lead us to quiet times of stillness and rest. Our calling is to follow the Spirit’s prompting and direction. Left to ourselves, we will simply run ourselves ragged as we rely on our own energy and resources. This can lead to frustration, resentment, and burnout. Why? Because we are looking to ourselves rather than the Spirit to supply what is needed.

In this month of August, take some time to reflect on your own faith journey. Where are you seeing the wind of the Spirit guiding you? How is the breath of the Spirit upholding you and giving you strength for the tasks that are before you? What new doors is the Spirit opening up for you?  The presence, the power, and the peace of our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ, who shed his blood as the atoning sacrifice for our sins, comes to us through the Holy Spirit. May this Spirit supply that needed wind-driven energy in your life!