Prevailing winds
The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. John 3:8
Some expressions kicking around the ethernet talk about the prevailing times. In general conversation, “prevailing times” is a handy phrase for discussing current events, viral trends, or ideologies. For example: “The prevailing times call for cool heads.”
Prevailing is a recurring theme in the Bible. When a word or theme piques my curiosity, I start collecting verses. Here’s my current list for prevailing:
1 Chronicles 12: 32: “The men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what to do.” (one of my favorites).
Matthew 16: 3: “You know how to interpret the sky’s appearance, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.”
2 Timothy 4:3–4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” (Ouch. I sometimes have itchy ears when something dramatic is happening in the culture, aka FOMO.
Ecclesiastes 3:1: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the sun.”
John 16: 33: “In the world you will have trouble. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:37: “In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
You might have noticed I moved from the theme to how to position myself in the theme. I could add the whole book of Daniel or Nehemiah as examples of saints who lived well in prvailing times they were caught in.
Being aware of cultural shifts that lead us away from truth is essential to walking with wisdom, renewing our minds with truth to live well in the prevailing times. Times change, but God’s will and Word endure, helping us navigate through prevailing times.
Stay Alert
I wrote about vigilance in a previous newsletter, another key to living well under trying circumstances. Two more verses, then:
James 1:12: “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life.”
Hebrews 12:1: “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus.”
Life is a marathon, not a sprint, so we need to pace ourselves. Isaiah 40:31 tells us that “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Pace yourself for the long haul and wait for the Lord to renew you.
The Greek word for Spirit is the same as that for wind. When I think of prevailing winds now, I remember the Spirit Wind that out-prevails them all—ever blowing. Invisible, powerful, and dynamic. Trends shift, but truth doesn't. The Spirit leads us into all truth, helps us discern the times, and prevail in them.
What’s the spiritual weather in your corner of the kingdom? Which way is the wind blowing?