Healing in the Wind

Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

And with that He breathed on them…

John 20:22 (NIV)

I find it amazing that God’s Word is so complete. Whether we read the Word first, then our experience backs it up, or we experience the Lord and then come across scripture that puts words to His action – it does not matter. His Word is complete!

I had an encounter with the Lord in the fall of 2004 that remains as vivid in my mind today as the day that it happened. I can close my eyes and relive the sights and the smells… It was a brisk fall day. The trees were ablaze with color! Rich reds, browns, fiery oranges and yellows – creation was ignited with praise – but my heart was dead grey and stone cold.

I can’t adequately describe the hopelessness and despair that I carried. In fact, I think that I had carried it so long that I was past feeling much of anything at all. I had just walked my tiny son to school and as I returned home, I remember being numb. There were no tears – simply an unspoken acknowledgement to the Lord that I was sure that life was supposed to hold more. I turned to walk down the back lane. I didn’t feel like being seen. Somehow, I think I just wanted to disappear – resigned to carry my burden unnoticed and by myself. That’s when it happened…

A warm gust of wind rushed down the lane and enveloped me. It was so profound that I stopped in my tracks. I closed my eyes and let it swirl around me. Somehow, I knew something was happening. Somehow, the rush of that wind lifted my burdens and freed me to see – to taste and see that the Lord was still good. That He truly had not forgotten me nor forsaken me.

I was freed to cry! Not tears of hopelessness but rather such an overwhelming peace! The Lord knew where I was and He – in an instant – blew away the chains that had bound me. My heart joined the symphony of creation! I am reminded of the words of Genesis 2:7, “the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” It was like I had come alive again. His breath healed me! He inclined His ear to my faint cry. He bent low and blew life and peace into me once more.

All of the sudden, the world was beautiful! Everywhere I looked, I saw His grandeur and the magnificence of my Creator. There was a lightness to my step and fresh found courage – the kind that comes when your feet have set upon the solid Rock!

I will always remember the warmth of His breath. I can’t read verses about the breath of life or His command of the winds without closing my eyes in grateful recognition. Was life “all better” after that? No. I had, and have, so much to learn. But I’m learning to trust the wind because I know its Master. Psalm 107: 25 & 29 says, “He commands and raises up the stormy wind” and “He hushes the storm to a calm and to a gentle whisper”. When I trust the Lord and His methods of working with me, I can soar on the winds like the eagle.

“Praise the Lord, O my soul!

O Lord my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty…

He makes winds His messengers.”

Psalm 104:1, 4a (NIV)