“Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit… 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 3:5-8]
How wonderfully mysterious is the work of the Holy Spirit! Like the breeze across a field, He is uncontainable. Or a small child who loses their hat to an unexpected gust, He takes us by surprise. It’s the Spirit’s unpredictability that reminds us of our limitations as created ones and helps foster awe at His Divinity.
Unlike the weather forecasts that can get predictions wrong, one thing about the Spirit of God is certain – He is always at work (John 5:17)!! In continuous connection with the Trinity, He is the manifest presence of God here in the world and functioning in many incredible and powerful ways to fulfil the Father’s will and glorify Jesus.
One of His roles that stood out to me in Acts 16 is that of drawing people into an encounter with God. Encountering His reality. His truth. His love. His conviction. His power.
What also stood out to me was the unpredictability of the Spirit’s movement and the unique ways He ministers through God’s people in places and circumstances that we would not consider to make the most sense.
We see this in the story of Paul and his fellow workers when they arrived in Philippi and made their way to a public place of prayer where they expected to find people who would be open to the things of God – a plan that makes a lot of sense!
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. (Acts 16:13-14)
Upon hearing Paul explain who Jesus is, the Spirit worked in one of the women’s hearts, prompting her to respond in faith. Lydia becomes the first recorded follower of Christ in Europe!
Imagine the impact she could have as a prominent businesswoman in the area – all the contacts she could share her new faith with; the ways her business practice could reflect the Kingdom of God; how her wealth from a successful trade in luxury goods could provide resources to the needy. It’s a beautiful picture of a transformed life positioned to bring Kingdom transformation into a city.
I’d say that was a great move, Holy Spirit!
What is unexpected is to read on and discover the Spirit’s next move…
Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. (Acts 16:16-18)
This slave woman – a bystander to Paul and the team as they made their way to the more ‘predictable’ location for ministry – was who the Spirit of God was working in. For Paul, she was an irritation and distraction from the plan! But this would be her breakthrough moment to be released from the oppressive spirit inhabiting her and gain freedom from men who owned and used her.
It appears that the Spirit’s activity in Philippi took Paul by surprise. He wasn’t intentional in seeking out this woman as someone to minister to, in fact he just wanted to solve the problem she was causing him. This woman was outside of his vision and ministry plan, but the Spirit of God saw her, and knew her, and was going to work through Paul despite his lack of sight.
We don’t know what happened to this woman, but I like to think of how she would reach a very different part of society to Lydia and would have shared a uniquely beautiful message of how the power of God transformed her life.
Two different women.
Two unique stories of encountering God.
But the same Spirit at work drawing these precious people into the love and light of Christ.
This story challenges me to ask myself, ‘How open am I to following the unpredictable leading of the Holy Spirit and to respond whenever and wherever He is working? Even when it’s outside of my plans that make the most sense…?’
I volunteer on teams with my local church and there’s a sense of expectation for the Spirit’s activity to be in that space. That’s the plan! But what about all the moments in between? The times I’m ‘on my way’ to the intentional place of ministry? Who is out of my sight but on God’s heart to encounter?
Our work contexts can be filled with such opportunities! Men and women who aren’t the ones we think are open to the things of God, but desperately need to know of His power to set them free. The irritating ones that we just want to be quiet, but who God wants to reach with His love. The colleagues observing our lives, but who need us to turn our attention to them and start a meaningful conversation about life and faith.
The beauty of both stories is that Paul was simply a vessel that the Spirit worked through. He spoke out truth, but the Spirit was the One to open the heart of Lydia to respond and to demonstrate great authority over an evil spirit. It’s His work – we’re just privileged to partner with Him in what He is doing!
Mel is Head of School for Worship.Works’ newly launched School of Work-Based Ministry – equipping believers to change their world through their work.