(Today’s audio reading on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wD47OXg0PKjwpWGCPEnJ6)
Suddenly there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm and it filled the house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2)
We just experienced a significant windstorm outside our house. The weather report was that it blew in at 50 miles per hour. I actually went outside and stood on our back porch and watched trees bending sideways, plants lying down. Debris flew around the neighborhood. In our area, the effects of the storm left 20,000 people without electrical power.
A mighty windstorm has the effect of focusing one’s attention. Questions rise in a hurry: Do we need to take shelter? Is this just a rain storm, or is there worse stuff behind it? Do we have candles or batteries for flashlights in case the power goes out? Have you turned on the weather to see what’s happening? (We checked the Weather Channel, but it was out—the satellite TV system had lost reception. That got our attention.) The list goes on. The key is that the windstorm is immediate news to be reckoned with. It’s in your face, and demands your attention.
In this Pentecost Day event, no doubt all those involved gave it their full attention. Especially when we learn that the windstorm was “filling the house where they were sitting”. There were no recorded directives like, “Hey, close the windows and keep out that wind!” They couldn’t shut out this wind, they couldn’t reduce its impact.
It strikes me as one of those wind experiences where you hold on to your hat, because it’s going to blow off and you’re going to lose it if you don’t. One reason they couldn’t stop it is that the wind was inside the house. The Scripture says it “filled” the house where they were sitting. I wonder if pillows and parchments were blowing around through the air?! They must have been. Wind upsets balance, and brings an unsettling chaos to a situation. Think of a picnic where paper plates and napkins are on a table, and suddenly the wind kicks up, seemingly out of nowhere, and things start flying, people start scrambling. Only in the case of this story, multiply the significance of this windstorm by many times over. Think of the response of those who were present: “Hey, what’s going on here?!”
The Holy Spirit gave unmistakable evidence of His presence, though when the wind started blowing, I doubt the disciples immediately put all the pieces together. Wind, breath and Holy Spirit go together in Scripture. This was a huge and overflowing mighty dose of God’s presence that begged a response.
This unexpected intervention feels to me like a big tap on the shoulder, with the Holy Spirit saying to some unsuspecting participants in his big picture salvation plan: “Excuse me! May I have your attention please?!”
“Father, I ask you to blow through my house, and my room, doing what you need to do to get my attention!”
Freddy Boswell 