“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8)

I’ve heard a number of people point out broader applications of this description of the work of the Holy Spirit. Here Jesus is speaking specifically of conversion. But there is a broader principle at work, namely, that the Spirit is sovereignly free in all he does.

One recent application I came across was in a sermon by Tim Keller, senior pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian in New York City. He said that Christians must approach communion with God as a sailor does sailing. A sailor has many tools and tactics for moving his boat across the water. But despite all his resources, he is at the mercy of the wind. He cannot conjure a breeze, nor can he predict where and when the wind will blow. “The wind blows where it wishes.” But when the wind blows, the sailor knows exactly what to do with it. He raises his sail, turns it in the corresponding direction of the wind, adjusts the rigging or the rudder, etc.

In like manner a Christian has no control over the Spirits moving within him. The joy that we long to mark our lives and especially our communion with God is a fruit of the Spirit. We are at the mercy of the Spirit. But like the sailor, we ought to know what to do when the Spirit blows on our hearts. Of course that assumes that we can even recognize this work in the first place. But in all our reading, meditating, praying, and other disciplines, we are waiting for the Spirit to touch our hearts with the presence of God and the joy that comes from knowing him. When this Wind blows, may we quickly raise the sails of our hearts to be blown along in the knowledge of the love of Christ our Savior!