“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 am learning how to sail and I love it! I have a sunfish, which is a small sailboat meant for 1-2 people with only one sail. The very first thing you learn is that you must know the direction the wind is blowing. And just as important, you can never sail directly into the wind. If you do that, you will get “stuck in irons” — which means you won’t go anywhere except possibly backwards. While keeping this in mind, you must also control the sail and the rudder.
With limited knowledge and those instructions, I set out sailing on my own after one lesson. Trying to navigate the sail and the rudder while keeping the boat from going directly into the wind is challenging when you first start out.
On my third solo sail, I kept trying to pull the sail in while the wind was at my back. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. Fortunately, a nearby sailor informed me to let the sail out at a 90-degree angle from the boat. This propels you forward in what they call “running.” When I did this, It felt as though I wasn’t moving. The same sailor let me know to look back at the rudder to see that I was actually moving quite fast. When you sail with the wind at your back, it actually requires little work from you. Additionally, I learned that this is actually the fastest you can go.
Oh, how similar is our relationship with the Holy Spirit! We cannot control the wind any more than we can control our God. If we fight against Him, we will go nowhere or possibly go backwards. But working with the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to guide us, we can move in our spiritual life. And running with Him at our back, we can fly! What does running look like? Resting in Him. Allowing Him time to speak to our hearts, to guide and direct us. We actually grow more quickly when we work from a place of rest.