The rustle of the wind
Martha Olawale
“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going…” John 3:8a
I woke up to a loud whizzing sound outside my window. It was so loud and constant that I thought there must be more to it than just air, so I opened the window to see. As soon as I lifted the window, I was welcomed by a gush of breeze so strong that it lifted the curtains. Yes, it was the wind, the invisible companion of humanity and the proof of life for every living thing. Until you take that last gasp of it, you are welcomed among the living. The wind is everywhere yet only seen when it forms into a destructive tornado or moves the sea in a hurricane.
As I pulled the window back down that early morning, I could not help but marvel at the strength of something I can only feel tearing through my skin, giving me chills. I could hear the shingles rustle, but I could not touch the air. I sat on the edge of my bed and thought of the presence of God and the fact that though we cannot see Him, He is sovereign over all things that pertain to life.
When the people of Athens worshipped on an altar with the inscription “The unknown God,” Paul called out their ignorance in Acts 17:22-28. Although one might think that it was enough for them to acknowledge the existence of God, but God does not need any man’s approval. He cannot be contained in an altar made by man’s hands and His sovereignty speaks through everything that has life. He shapes the sphere of humanity through His outstretched arms and created all things.
Like the gentle breeze that blows softly on a delicate rosebud or the raging one that pulls a giant tree from its foundation and scatters the sea, we might not be able to touch God, but He is present in all things and at all times. He is more than the force behind creation, or a mysterious being watching from a faraway galaxy. He exists in every detail of the fabric of the universe. He is Yahweh, powerful, immortal, invisible, invincible; He is sovereign over all things, and He is the Almighty.
Our doubt of the existence of God cannot erase Him, nor reduce a pinch from all that He is. But, our acknowledgment of God, through acceptance of the redemption by Christ, expands our horizon beyond human comprehension. We might not be able to touch God, but we see Him in the firmament, in the deep ends of earth’s oceans, and the complex wonder of a tiny anthill. He is not an elusive father, for in Him we live, move, and have our being (Acts 17:28).
Photo by Khamkeo Vilaysing
