Acts 2:1-4 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent WIND came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of FIRE that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
The Wind of God shows up in this Exodus story in chapter 14. Verse 21 says a strong “east wind” blew. The east wind is symbolic of the Holy Spirit here! Listen, when God was taking His people out of Egypt, out of slavery, He removed any obstacle including the waters of the Red Sea as He exhaled and breathed upon the waters and parted them so that the Israelites could go through on dry ground.
When the enemy of the Red Sea is in front of them and the enemy of Pharaoh’s army is coming behind them to try to recapture them, God breathed. When they were facing being captured and taken back to their old way of life, God breathed. When they were being delivered from slavery and into freedom and a new way of life, God breathed.
Do you have any rivers you can’t cross? Are there any enemies chasing you? Do you see no way to victory when you look at what lies ahead? You need God to breathe on your circumstances. You need the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to part the waters and make a way where there seems to be no way. If you are in over your head, call upon the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of Pentecost, to blow in your direction and allow you to walk through on dry ground!
Fire was also present in the Exodus 14 story. The fire was leading the Israelites. It had been in front of them. But when the Egyptian army pursued God’s people to recapture them, the fire withdrew and got in between Israel and the Egyptian army. Can I just tell you, “God’s got your back?” And as the nation of Israel looked at the pillar in the sky, from their vantage point, it lit their way, making their way clear. But God used that same pillar of fire to literally neutralize the enemy! As the Egyptian army looked at the same pillar in the sky, there was no light that they could see, but only darkness. Imagine trying to travel with horses and chariots in total pitch darkness. Imagine the confusion. Imagine the difficulty.
Oh church, the fire of God, the Holy Spirit of God, He who indwells believers is living in us and is lighting our way. He is routing our enemy. He is causing us to triumph. We are walking in newness of life. Nothing the devil can say and nothing he can do can remove us from God’s hands or thwart God’s plans. Our path is being made straight. Our feet are falling on level places. We are going to new places in our relationship with God in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. We have escaped sin’s grasp. We will not bow to that old master anymore, but we are free to worship and serve and love God and to follow God’s plan for our lives as He lights our way!
Let us give thanks for the Wind and Fire of the Spirit and seek to be moved by and transformed and led by the power of the Spirit!
Rev. Dr. Melissa Pratt
Teays Valley Church of God
6979 Teays Valley Rd, Scott Depot, WV 25560
Melissa@tvcog.org
304-757-9222
www.tvcog.org
