The Wind Blows Where it Will

“The wind blows where it wills...” John 3:8

If we want to make a difference in the world, we need the Holy Spirit. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John, chapter 3, “You can hear the sound the wind makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” We never know whom God will touch and move. 

I recently read the New York Times best seller “same kind of different as me”, a true story written by an international art dealer, a modern-day slave and convict from Louisiana, and the amazing woman who brought them together. The art dealer, Ron Hall, had been unfaithful to his wife Debbie, and to make up for it, he joined her serving the poor in Union Gospel Mission located in the nasty part of Fort Worth. 

Debbie dreamt of the mission several times, and there was a man in it. “It was like that verse in Ecclesiastes. A wise man who changes the city. I saw his face.” That man was Denver Moore, a black man who kept mostly to himself, hardened by living on the streets for 22 years. When Debbie recognized Denver as the man in her dream, she made her husband promise to befriend him. He did. It wasn’t easy because Denver tried his best to avoid this do-gooder rich couple. 

Denver Moore and Ron Hall

Eventually, Denver would confide in Ron and Debbie, and they found beneath his thick hide, a strong spirit, a staunch loyalty and deep understanding. “He claimed in his solitude to have heard from God.” Through his friendship with the Halls, he was inspired to help in the mission and down in the Lot, one of the worst neighborhoods in the city. He would also sing in chapel service, and was “forced” to go on a retreat with what he called “white ladies”! 

The Deborah Hall Memorial Chapel, Union Gospel Mission in Fort Worth, Texas

Fast forward to when Debbie got a vicious form of cancer, and while fighting for her life, Denver would give them a Word from God. One of the last ones when Debbie was very weak and tired, Denver told her she needn’t fight any longer. God said she could lay down the torch and that Denver would take it up. During Debbie’s memorial service, Denver spoke and said Debbie was the “onlyest person who looked past my skin...” While he was speaking, people were crying and laughing and clapping, and after he left the podium, the entire congregation stood and applause thundered. A fundraising drive started for a new mission facility and new chapel. So much money was raised for the mission in a very short time. Denver and Ron went around telling their story around the country, and inspired people to donate about $70 million to causes related to homelessness. The wind blew where it willed!