The wind can be an ally or an enemy, depending on which way it’s blowing and which way you’re going.
Last year at the beach on at least one occasion, we found ourselves being blasted by strong winds. After almost losing our tents to the gusty onslaught, we attached sandbags to hold them in place. They held, but the strain was obvious as we watched the aluminum frame stretch, but thankfully not break. Over the next few hours, we lowered them on more than one occasion just to be safe, raising them when the wind subsided.
Between bouts with the tents, I watched the pelicans and seagulls fight their own battles with nature as they searched the ocean below for food. As they flew from my right to my left, the wind was an ally. The birds could glide gracefully, barely flapping their wings. But when they turned and attempted to fly in the other direction, it was a different story. They struggled, their wings flapping fiercely, trying to move forward. If they dared to rest, they were blown backward or off course. Some continued to push forward, while many gave up the fight.
Isn’t life a lot like that? Don’t we often feel like the wind is at our backs, pushing us forward with little effort on our part? Things come easily, and work out as we planned. But then, there are those other times when the winds blast our faces, pushing us back, forcing us to struggle just to hold our own. Progress seems out of the question, and we’re exhausted just trying to stand. Sometimes we push forward, and sometimes we tire and give up.
Two questions. Then two more.
Is the wind blowing in the direction in which you really need to be going? In other words, are you going with the wind because it’s the right direction, or simply because it’s easier?
Are you pushing against the wind unnecessarily? Same idea, different question. Is it possible the battle is hard because you don’t need to be in it?
Do you need to turn around? Does it make sense to change your direction and go with the wind? Sometimes it does.
Do you need to keep pushing forward? There are times we can’t go with the wind. We simply have to keep moving in the face of it. These times are hard. They make us weary. They discourage us. It seems like the harder we push, the more we go backwards, or at best, stay where we are.
But as I watched the birds push against the wind, I considered the possibility that it was necessary. They had a place they needed to get to in spite of the hard winds pushing them back. And I had another thought. If these birds simply went with the wind at their back all the time, they would never develop the strength they needed to continue to fly.
Struggles do matter. They make us stronger. They equip us for the next challenge. If we never faced adversity, we would wilt and give up the first time that life challenged us.
The Scriptures are clear. Our trials strengthen us. Here’s what James writes. “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4 NASB)
Paul has this to say. “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (Romans 5:3-5 NASB)
Just like flying against the wind provides resistance for my avian friends, life’s struggles provide the necessary resistance that makes us stronger.
My prayer for you is that on most days the wind is at your back. And on those days when your journey takes you into the face of the wind, may you have the strength and courage to endure. In either circumstance, may you look to the one who walks with you. Peter offers this word of comfort. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7 CSB)
Be blessed.