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The other day, I set out riding my bike along my usual route. I felt good. I thought, “I must be in pretty good shape right now.” I was even pedaling up hills in high gear. “Ah, I feel like I’m forty-three again. It’s going to be a good day!”
I reached the farthest point and turned around to head back home. That’s when I felt it—the wind, a headwind. “Hmm,” I thought, “so if I have a headwind now, then I must have had a tailwind on the way out. That means that it wasn’t so much my strength that was moving me along; it was the wind.” I felt rather deflated. I was neither as strong nor as self-sufficient as I had thought I was.
Life’s journey is a bit like that. When things are going well in our relationships with others, we often take credit for ourselves: “I’ve been wise and gracious lately.” When our work runs smoothly, we might surmise, “I am diligent and organized.” When we feel especially at peace with God, we may attribute it to our doing our devotions and being in the Word.
Now, we have the responsibility to be wise and gracious in our relationships. We are called to be diligent and organized in our work. And it is necessary to be in the Word. But when we put forth the effort and things go well, do we take credit ourselves? Or do we realize that the wind in our back is from a source outside us? Do we feel the power of the Holy Spirit behind us? Do we acknowledge His work in our lives and give the honor to Him?
On the other hand, what if we are pedaling hard and the hills are steep, and we are barely moving? What if life isn’t going so well? What if we are not making ends meet? We try very hard, but we are working against a strong headwind. What if it seems as if God is against us?
Well, we can be sure, if we are the Lord’s, that the wind of the Spirit is still with us in the storms of life. Jesus warned us:
“In the world ye shall have tribulation.” (John 16:33, KJV throughout)
“As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten.” (Rev. 3:19)
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” (John 15:18)
God’s design may be to strengthen us through trials, or He may need to correct us.
So don’t be surprised. There will always be tailwinds and headwinds in life. The Holy Spirit is present in both. When it is smooth sailing, acknowledge His blessings with humble gratitude. Enjoy the gentle breezes and the peaceful times. But let’s never think that we got there on our own strength. When you encounter a headwind, put your shoulder into the wind, put your head down, and cry out to the Lord for His strength. He reassures us, “Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20).