Encouragement for Your Week: May 3-9
This Week’s Verse
“The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
— John 3:8 (NLT)
Devotion
I’ll be the first to admit: I love to have a plan. Most of us do. We use our logic to map out our lives, solve problems, and try to make sense of the world. But I’ve learned that when it comes to God, our logic eventually hits a ceiling. There are just some things about Him that are too big for our minds to wrap around.
The way the Holy Spirit works is one of those mysteries.
The Bible tells us that God lives in light so bright that no human can get close to it (1 Timothy 6:16). Think about that for a second. If we can't even approach the "room" where God dwells, how can we expect to fully analyze His thoughts or predict His next move?
Because God is completely independent and in control, He doesn't check in with our logic before He acts. This means:
We can't predict who He will reach. Sometimes the person we think is "farthest away" is the one the Spirit touches next.
We can't predict where He will lead us. The Spirit might pull your life in a direction you never saw coming.
Even though I can’t see the Spirit or explain His "why," I can certainly see the "what." Jesus compares the Spirit to the wind. I can't see a gust of air, but I can see the leaves shaking on a tree. I can feel the breeze on my face.
It’s the same in our spiritual lives. When our hearts are softened by faith, we start to recognize the fingerprints of the Spirit: A sudden change in someone’s character. An unexpected peace during a hard time. A quiet nudge to help someone in need.
I don’t have to be in control to be in good hands. I don't need to understand the "mechanics" of how God changes a human heart to enjoy the fact that He does.
This week, instead of trying to figure everything out, let’s look for the "rustle in the leaves"—the small signs that the Spirit is moving. When we see His work in our lives or those around us, our job isn't to explain it; it’s simply to celebrate it.