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Can you feel the spirit? (23 February)

Our Thought for the Week today has been written by John Goddard, minister at Saffron Walden and member of the EBA Council

Psalm 46: 10 ‘Be still, and know that I am God…’

Dudley, Eunice and Frank. Is it just me or does this sound more like a table for three at a church coffee morning than the series of deadly storms that have shaken UK communities in recent days. We continue to pray for those left without power and for those beginning the long and costly process of drying out their homes and assessing their losses. And our hearts go out to those mourning the loss of loved ones.

There is something profoundly elemental about storm force winds. You can’t see them, but the evidence of their existence is all too readily visible. As John’s Gospel puts it, ‘The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.’ It’s an amazing thought that we are part of the wonder of making the works of God visible and tangible!

One of my earliest memories of schooldays is of one of the oldest stories we know outside of the Biblical tradition – Aesop’s fable of the North Wind and the Sun. A teacher told us in assembly of the wager between the North Wind and the Sun as to which of them was the strongest. A traveller’s cloak is the chosen challenge – which of them is strong enough to remove the cloak from the traveller? You know how this story goes, and even if you didn’t you could probably guess! The wind blows as hard as the wind can, but the traveller wraps the cloak all the more tightly. And then the Sun shines brightly and the heat builds and the traveller removes their cloak. The violent strength of the North Wind is ultimately no match for the warm embrace of the Sun.

Perhaps as we reflect on the work of the Spirit upon and within and among us we might notice that the work of the Spirit is not always or often discerned in the violence of the storm so much as in the gentleness of the breeze – the still small voice of calm. The gifts of the Spirit may sometimes speak and power and drama, but we live daily with the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. Maybe we should take some time in the midst of the storm to reflect on these things, to seek stillness and know who is God.

For further thought… Spend time with the words of the fruit of the Spirit. They are found in Galatians 5: 22. Speak each of the 9 words in turn – slowly, carefully. Which words are you drawn to? Which words would God have you listen to? Be still, and know that God is God. Watch for the Spirit blowing.