Day 1 - A Breath of Fresh Air

Job 33:4

The Spirit of God has made me;
the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

This came as kind of a surprise to me, but did you know the Bible actually talks a good bit about air? The Old Testament calls it ruach (Hebrew) and the New Testament calls it pneuma (Greek). The Bible we use doesn’t usually translate the words as “air,” but rather it’s usually translated “breath.” Sometimes, it’s called “wind.” And other times, it’s translated as “spirit”—as in “the Holy Spirit” or “the Spirit of God” and similar phrases.

Since we are beginning this journey in the spring of the year, many of us may have had to clean up tree limbs (and trees!) that have been blown down by storms. We have all witnessed firsthand the strength of the wind. In especially stormy seasons we become more attuned to the weather forecasts to be prepared. And the closer to bodies of water one lives, the more likely it is to hear weather reports mention water craft warnings when there are storms forecast.

Just imagine being in a boat on the water when the wind kicks up! On the one hand it could be fearful, but on the other, very exciting. If I think of the Holy Spirit in terms of being a wind, and I think of myself as a vessel powered by that wind, it fires my imagination to think of the possibilities: movement, power, adventure, and discovery!

Most folks these days are recreational sailors. I have heard many of them glowingly describe the perfect sailing day as one in which they catch a full sail of wind. Their vessels practically skim over the water and it is exhilarating.

What if I lived my life like that—trying to catch a full sail of the Holy Spirit’s wind? What would my day look like? Would I make decisions differently? How would it look to those around me? And herein is the foundational question of our study and the answer to why we titled it "Catch the Wind."