Evil Spirit of the Wind

“The word hurricane comes from the Taino Native American word, hurucane, meaning the evil spirit of the wind.” What a curious definition.  

Wind, like water, can be wonderful. So can a nice warm fire, but all these elements can become devastating when out of control.

Hurricane Ian ripped through Florida, traveling down the coast and leaving a trail of destruction behind its path. Today, we have the technology, Doppler radar, and 24-hour news updates, we are warned, but it has not always been that way. 

The Weather Nation blog site honors Joseph B. Duckworth as the first pilot to fly into the eye of a hurricane. “On July 27, 1943, U.S. Army Air Forces Lt. Col. Joseph B. Duckworth made the first deliberate flight into the eye of a hurricane. This historic event inaugurated the era of aircraft reconnaissance into tropical cyclones, which greatly enhanced our understanding and forecasting of these storms.”[1] 

The hurricane Joseph flew into had winds of over 130 MPH, caused millions in damages, and had around 20 fatalities. They called this hurricane “The surprise Hurricane.” There was a censorship on weather information due to the Germans operating in the Gulf. The public didn’t know about the hurricane until it made landfall on the Bolivar Peninsula on July 27. 

Have you ever been hit by a storm in your life that you did not know was coming?

You were unprepared? The information was kept hidden from you, and then bam! 

A hurricane has an eye and an eye wall. The eye wall, or outer rim, is where the most violent, fierce winds and rains occur, but the eye is the safest place to be. During this evil spirit of the wind, some birds get caught up in the eye of the storm. Often, a tropical bird or one adapted to the sea will end up hundreds, if not 1,000, miles away. The birds are out of their element. Once the hurricane is over, the birds are worn out—wholly spent, yet unharmed. They have ridden the storm out by staying in the eye. When we remain hidden and close to the Father of Glory, we, too, can survive the toughest of storms. 

Some storms in life are like sucker punches. There is no warning. No Doppler Radar—we are blindsided. The boats in the Gulf could not radio ahead to let the public know for fear the enemy (Germans) would find out. 

David needed protection from the storms. He had more enemies than the hairs on his head. In one Psalm, David requested Adonai keep him as the apple of His eye. The eyewall of a hurricane surrounds the eye of the hurricane with a wall of clouds considered the deadliest area of a hurricane. The eye wall removes any trace of a storm from the hurricane’s eye and produces deadly winds of more than 150 mph.  

“Keep me as the apple of the eye; hide me under the shadow of thy wings.”‘ Psalm 17:8.

Chaim Ben Torah has a words study concerning this wrongly translated word “apple.” I’ll leave the link for those who want to dig deeper, but the word apple was taken from the Hebrew rendering: “as you keep me as a little man— a daughter—an eye.” This doesn’t make much sense, but Chaim reveals more. Here’s a short excerpt:

“So it was easily understood that the pupil was very precious for sight. The word daughter was added because the daughter was very precious to the father, not that the son wasn’t, but the son was supposed to become a man, a warrior and fighter, one who protected his family. The daughter was equally precious to the father but needed far more protection that the son. If someone harms a man’s son he will encourage that son to stand up and fight back. Someone touches a man’s daughter, well look out buddy, that was one bad move, you deal with papa.”[2]

AKA, Big Daddy.

 

 Have you ever been in a spiritual storm that was so tumultuous and blinding you had to fly into the eye of it and ride it out until the storm subsided? You had to get in the tucked position and close your eyes, envisioning the Father’s Wings enclosed over you until the storm blew over. Some spiritual storms can last for years.

David had storms that lasted for decades.

Recently, many people experienced one of the worst hurricanes in history, Ian. Multiple people lost their lives, homes, and possessions. Many times, we think we are prepared for the storm. We say things like, “Last year’s storm wasn’t that bad,” or we figure we’ve been through worse and survived. So, when we are warned to evacuate or flee, we say things like, “God will protect us, or I’ve lived here my whole life and weathered worse.” When we don’t heed the warnings, we suffer, and often those we love, those younger, older, weaker, more fragile, suffer because we turned a deaf ear and did not prepare for what was coming. Preparing for a hurricane involves covering windows, sandbags, generators, bottled water, emergency nonperishables, etc. but preparing for a spiritual storm involves being tucked up under Daddy’s wings. The apple of His eye. It also requires knowing His Word to battle the adversary that tends to creep into our minds, bringing torment. 

Eagles have great diversity during storms. The eagles become excited by storms and fly above them, allowing the winds to carry them effortlessly. Oh, to be as intelligent as a bird. Job pleads,

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” (Job 12:7-9).

The eagles use the pressure of the storm to help them glide without using their energy. Their wings lock in a fixed position amid the violent winds. Sometimes storms arise when we don’t expect them, like parts of Florida that were not in the path of Ian at first. Those in the area looked safe while their neighbors prepared for the worst, but the storm’s course changed. People were caught off guard. The waters were rising, and they had not made preparation. Sometimes storms come in the season of joy and black out the sky. Regardless of when or what type of storms arise in our lives, we know the Master of the Wind. The One who said, “Peace be still,” in the midst of the storm, slept while his disciples cried out in fear.

In the midst of a storm, Joseph Duckworth flew into the eye. 

 On that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.” After dismissing the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And a fierce gale of wind developed, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling with water. And yet Jesus (Yeshua) Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down, and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who, then, is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

Mark 4:35-41, NASB

I wanted to use these examples to help those weathering spiritual storms in their lives. Many things in this world hurt us, harm us, and come to destroy us. We grieve the loss of friends, we worry about our children making the right decisions, or we bury a child or loved one. We feel alone in the world and seek a mate, or our marriages are broken, our families are broken, and our spiritual condition is so numb we need a strong storm to awaken us so we will cry out to the Master of the Wind. Yeshua, please save us from the evil spirit of the wind. Thankfully we have the same Wind that was hovering over the waters in Genesis one, the Holy Breath of the Creator of all the earth—His wind sweeps in when we least expect it and when we wait for it. When we cry out, “Master, save us.” This Wind brings refreshment, healing, and peace. Whatever has breath has life and is still among the living. May He breathe on us. May we be the apple of His Eye, hidden under the shadow of His Wings. 

  [1] 75th Anniversary of First Flight into the Eye of a Hurricane – WeatherNation (weathernationtv.com)

[2] Word Study: Apple Of My Eye | Chaim Bentorah

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