The East Wind

I was reading in Hosea this morning when a phrase flicked me on the ear. The people of Israel, the prophet says, "chase after the east wind all day long" (Hosea 12:1). A chapter later, it comes back: "The east wind...a blast from the LORD....will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear" (Hosea 13:15).

Why the east wind? I got curious and started digging.

In ancient Israel, the moisture from the west winds came off the Mediterranean. The east wind came off the desert, hot and dry, and it could destroy in days what had taken months to grow. So picture chasing that all day, wearing yourself out running after the very thing that dries up your own well.

It reminded me of a homily a friend recently shared with me. The speaker referenced Arthur Brooks, who challenges the idea that happiness comes from more: more money, more accomplishments, more recognition. One more promotion. One more milestone. One more pat on the back. The finish line keeps moving, and we stay thirsty.

Ambition isn't the problem, and neither is hard work. Hosea's people had put their trust in alliances and prosperity instead of God. The real question is what we're trusting to satisfy us.

Then I followed the east wind through the rest of Scripture. It scorches the grain in Pharaoh's dream. It carries the locusts into Egypt. It shatters the great ships in Psalm 48. It forced Jonah to humble himself.

And then it shows up at the Red Sea, with Pharaoh's army behind Israel and the water in front of them:

The kind of wind that makes a well disappear opened up a path through the sea.

There's a big difference between the wind we chase and the wind God sends. The first leaves us dry. The second can open a way we never would have found.

Maybe you're standing in a hard wind today: a tough market, a lost deal, a setback at home. It may be stripping away something you trusted too much. It may also be clearing your path.

What are you pursuing hardest right now, and is it drawing you closer to the people and purpose that matter most, or drying out your well? For me, too often I chase the things that have a tendency to stroke my ego or provide false security. I pursue the east wind while trying to protect myself against it at the same time, instead of accepting it when it comes and having the faith that it will clear a new path forward.