David Diga Hernandez - Symbols of the Holy Spirit: Wind

Wind is a symbol for the Holy Spirit. Now, this is an oversimplification. I don’t want to get into the details of the Greek and the Hebrew, but understand this: in the Old Testament, the word for spirit is «Ruach.» The Hebrew word «Ruach» can mean spirit, wind, or even breath. In the New Testament, the word for spirit is «pneuma,» which can also mean spirit, wind, or breath. Of course, as far as the words in languages go, there is much more to it than that, but for the sake of simplicity, just note that «Ruach» and «pneuma» can mean spirit, wind, or breath.

Now, I want to emphasize this; I emphasized this in the first session, but I want to emphasize this again: just because you see wind somewhere in the Bible doesn’t mean that it automatically represents the Holy Spirit. Sometimes wind is just wind, but sometimes wind is the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 2, verses 1 through 2 say this: «On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place.» I love this right here: «Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting.» I love this about the Holy Spirit; he comes in suddenly and from seemingly nowhere, swirling about the atmosphere and causing change and transformation. This is the unpredictable nature of the Holy Spirit.

Now, when I say unpredictable, I don’t mean unreliable. I simply mean that the Holy Spirit is not obligated to tell us what he’s doing in every single moment. Sometimes the Holy Spirit moves in such a way that it causes you and your agenda to feel disrupted. But this doesn’t mean he’s not orderly; it just means he has his order, his agenda, and something he wants to accomplish. When his agenda disrupts our agenda, we must follow the agenda of the Holy Spirit. He is like the wind: invisible yet powerful, unpredictable and sudden. He is the unpredictable spirit who, as I said, comes in swirling about and shifting things around.

If ever you find yourself in a place where you feel like you cannot move forward, if you ever find that the spiritual wind, so to speak, has been knocked out of you because of some tragedy or trial, you can rest assured that the presence of the Holy Spirit will come in suddenly, breathing new life—breathing the breath of God into you—and causing you to move forward. John chapter 20, verse 22 says, «Then he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'»

Several years ago, I was praying late into the night, as I often do, and I ended this prayer session at probably around 1:00 a.m. Sometimes the Holy Spirit will call me out from my sleep and wake me up to pray, and other times, the Holy Spirit will just keep me up. I love those moments I have with the Holy Spirit. But I went to bed worshiping—there’s no better way to go to sleep. I went to bed worshiping, I went to bed meditating on Scripture, I went to bed praying, and I went to bed aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit. I was praying in my mind as I fell asleep, and because I fell asleep in the presence of the Holy Spirit, I began to dream heavenly things.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I remember waking up suddenly from this sensation that ran through my body. One of the best ways I’ve come to describe it is like this: it’s like on a really hot day when you take a glass of ice-cold water and drink it, and you can feel the water moving through your body—it’s so cold it’s almost shocking. It’s a strong sensation. Well, in the same way, I felt that when I took a breath. I remember waking up, breathing in, and when I awoke and breathed in, I felt what would be in my mind the breath of God. It felt like what the breath of God would feel like if you breathed it in. I remember when I breathed in; it was as if every cell in my body was invigorated. I came to life. It was like drinking a cold glass of water, but it was a breath. When I took that breath, I woke up and was alive; my whole body was tingling. I could feel this electric sensation on me.

But that breath did something in me, and I woke up. I began praying in tongues and sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit. When I tell you that the presence of the Holy Spirit manifested in my room, I’m telling you the truth: the presence of the Holy Spirit manifested in my room. I felt like I was in my own little piece of heaven on earth. I’ll tell you this: what I sense with the Holy Spirit when I pray or worship on my own is always stronger than what I sense in the services. For those of you who have come to the services that our ministry hosts, you’ve sensed the presence of the Holy Spirit, but I’m telling you this: in those private times with the Holy Spirit, the sense of his presence is even stronger than in those meetings.

So, I remember waking up, feeling this breath, this sensation, and I began to pray and worship. I just enjoyed my time in the presence of God. It was an indication to me that his presence was with me; it was something that he allowed me to experience—a glimpse of another side of him.