I love to listen to the wind! When I do I can’t help think of our awesome God.

The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, 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 ESV)

My bed is between two windows which I have open on hot nights.

Our Summers produce some really hot weather and heatwaves. Currently we are going through one of these where our temperatures are 35 degrees plus (Celsius) – over 100 degrees in Farenheit. These are “the lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer” that lead us to craving for relief.

After a hot day or a series of them we are often gifted with a “southerly buster”.  We literally crave a southerly buster. These winds from the south are blustery, refreshing winds which usually eventuate at night or in the early hours of the morning.

One of Australia’s most celebrated poets, Henry Lawson wrote about just that – entitled “Southerly Buster”. Below is an excerpt.

Oh, the city is baked, and its thirst is unslaked,
Though it swallows iced drinks by the score,
And the blurred sky is low and the air seems aglow
As if breezes would cool it no more.

Old Southerly Buster! your forces you muster
Where seldom a wind bloweth twice,
And your ‘white-caps’ have hint of the snow caps, and glint of
The far-away barriers of ice.
No wind the wide sea on can sing such a paean
Or do the great work that you do;
Our own wind and only, from seas wild and lonely—
Old Southerly Buster!—To you!

You can find the entire poem on Poem Hunter.com

It is such a buzz to hear this powerful wind coming from afar.

The fearsome clouds gather in the darkness.

Then far away there is a lonely distant sighing. My ears prick and hope soars. Is it the southerly I hear? Within the space of 15 – 30 minutes the sigh becomes a moan. As it picks up speed the moan becomes a series of powerful gusts setting the leaves on the trees outside to rustle. A slight cooling breeze finds its way through my windows. Yes it is coming! And then in all its power the southerly buster arrives with a howl rushing unimpeded across the lake which is at the rear of our house and blasts through my window. Instant relief!

Sometimes this cooling balm takes the form of a strong cooling wind, other times it is gale force and may be accompanied by a severe storm with crashing thunder and forked lightning. At times there may be hail. These are times where you heart thumps in your chest and you begin counting the seconds between the lightning flashes and thunder.

Job describes it well in Chapter 37:1-6,11-12 (ERV)

37 “The thunder and lightning frighten me;
my heart pounds in my chest.
2 Listen to God’s thundering voice!
Listen to the sound coming from his mouth.
3 He sends his lightning to flash across the whole sky.
It lights up the earth from one end to the other.
4 After the flashes of lightning you can hear his roaring voice.
He thunders with his wonderful voice!

God’s thundering voice is amazing! he says to the rain,
‘Pour down on the earth.’
He fills the clouds with water
and scatters his lightning through them.
12 He orders the clouds to be blown all around the earth.
The clouds do whatever he commands.

It is as though God is making us aware of his power before he brings the cooling rain and provides the relief in temperatures. Everything cools like a refreshing wave of forgiveness as His mercy and grace wash over us.

Amazing!