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Life is unpredictable. We don’t know what’s ahead of us.
We used to say, “Yeah, life is unpredictable” but knew that only with our brain. Just a theory. But these days, we feel it.
Every morning I wake up, I get surprising news. Yesterday I woke up, and the war broke out in the Middle East.
We cannot really predict what our future will be like. This makes us feel vulnerable and uncomfortable.
Even if you are hungry, if you know that there will be food tomorrow, then you can bear with your hunger. You just wait.
But if you are uncertain whether there will be food tomorrow, then that unpredictability is hard to bear.
When I suddenly had double vision when I woke up, it was hard to take at first. But after I found out the cause of my double vision, and it would get better in a few months, I was Ok even though there was a question in the back of my mind, “What if it doesn’t get better?”
But when you are sick with a disease that does not give you any guarantees, it is hard to bear.
If your future is unpredictable, it creates anxiety within you. Whether it is your job situation, or school, or your health, if your future is uncertain, you get anxious.
But ironically, unpredictability – that is what you see in today’s scripture.
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. (John 3:8)
The wind blows as it wishes, and we don’t know where it comes from or where it goes.
You don’t have control over your wind.
Wind = the Spirit – Same word: Pneuma.
Also, Jesus said our life will be like that.
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
When you are born of the Spirit, your life is unpredictable.
So I realized that uncertainty itself does not cause anxiety. Yes, the uncertainty that comes from your circumstances causes anxiety. Why?
Because your circumstances don’t really care about you and your situations. They are random. They don’t care whether it is a good time or a bad time. They just happen. That’s why sometimes they cause disaster in our lives. That’s why it causes anxiety.
But the Spirit is different. But the Spirit cares.
The Holy Spirit knows our needs. The Holy Spirit knows our situations. The Holy Spirit knows what is best for us. The Holy Spirit has a deep understanding of our predicament.
Even though we don’t know how the Spirit moves, the Spirit knows clearly where the Spirit is going. The Spirit does not work randomly.
The Spirit has a clear direction; it is only hidden from us. That’s why we feel uncertain.
The Spirit knows better than we know ourselves. When we don’t know what we ought to pray, the Spirit knows our needs and prays for us.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26)
The Spirit works mysteriously. You don’t know the entire process of what the Spirit does, but when you look back, you can see the trace of how the Spirit moved in your life.
So, leave your life to the mysterious guidance of the Holy Spirit. Surrender yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit. Daily empty your heart and let the Spirit come in and take control of your life.
Don’t steer your life on your own, but leave your future to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
When you do that, the Spirit will give you not anxiety but freedom. Because you don’t need to have an obsession to control everything that is happening in your life, you are free from that obsession.
Listen to verse 8 again.
The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
Don’t you feel the freedom? The Spirit freely moves and also gives you freedom.
Your circumstances cannot bind you and enslave you any more. No matter what your circumstances may give you, you will not be shaken.
Don’t give in to your circumstances. Don’t make your circumstances be the captain of your life. Your circumstances do not have the last word in your life. You can be free and confident even in chaos.
Today’s Scripture does not say what happened to Nicodemus after hearing Jesus’ teaching. But in John, Nicodemus comes out again.
When the Sanhedrin, the highest court, condemned Jesus, Nicodemus came out boldly and defended Jesus.
Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you?” (John 7:50-52)
This was courageous behaviour. He spoke the truth courageously, even though he knew they would totally reject him.
They rebuked him, saying; you are not from Galilee, are you? Nicodemus was bold: That’s freedom.
Instead of being enslaved by fear, living boldly and doing what is right – that is FREEDOM.
Today is March 1st. It is a very special day for Koreans. On this day in 1919, there was a nationwide, largely nonviolent demonstration against Japanese colonialism. They fought for freedom.
Many Christians were part of this movement. All people took part. Young and old, men and women.
They had no power, but fought against what was not right. Christians believed in the power of the Holy Spirit.
After this protest, the Japanese could not use any more the military and violent oppression. This movement influenced China and India in their nonviolent protests.
And finally, the world paid attention to the Korean situation. And a provisional government in Shanghai was established.
When you surrender yourself to the Spirit, the Spirit will give you freedom, and with that freedom, we should live our lives for those who are rejected, alienated, oppressed, and abandoned. Let us live out our calling.
We don’t give in to our circumstances. We don’t surrender to our circumstances. But we surrender to the mysterious guidance of the Spirit. The Spirit will work out for good.
If you are sick, don’t give in. If you are uncertain of your future, don’t give in.
Take one step at a time.
If you have worries, defeat your worries, believing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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