The Whirlwind

We've all been there. The to-do list is longer than the hours in the day, the bills are higher than the balance in the bank and our relationships are strained to the breaking point.

It feels like we're caught in a whirlwind, being blown to pieces by the pressures of life.

It's an idea I've been thinking about a lot this last week -- largely brought on by my purchase of a CD called The Whirlwind, by Transatlantic.

The title piece is broken into 12 parts spanning 77 minutes with this cohesive theme of the whirlwind. Some sample lyrics if you will:


And we got caught in the whirlwind
Torn by the storms of our lives
We counted - counted on something
That never could hold up our lives

...

And we got caught in the whirlwind
Torn by the storms of our lives
And just when we thought we had something
It turned into dust in our eyes

So curiosity got the best of me and I checked to see how many times the word "whirlwind" appeared in the Bible. And the answer I came up with was 15, all in the Old Testament.

Most often, whirlwind might bring to mind the story of Elijah being taken up to heaven in 2 Kings 2.

But primarily, the message these passages conveyed is the same as the lyrics above. For example, Isaiah 40:23-24:

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.
No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.

So what will we do when the whirlwind begins to blow us around? Attempt to cling to the things of this world or grab hold of something more substantial, something eternal?

The CD concludes with an idea that I believe Elijah found to be true:

There is in the heart of the whirlwind
One who has been for all time
And he was sent to deliver
And bring forth the river of life
And we are here in the wilderness
Seeking some shelter inside
And now that it's done
Out of the whirlwind
Comes forth the true breath of life