Which Way Is The Wind Blowing?

During my college years, I met an amazingly eclectic group of people. “Eclectic” is a nice way of saying that many of them were weird lol. Not weird in the sense of crazy, but weird in the sense of being radcially different than I was. We always tend to think that people who have different interests, values, and experiences than we have are weird, and so did I. I am certain that I was as weird to some of my classmates as some of them were to me.

I’ve been thinking alot lately about one of the weirdos that I met named Charles. I don’t remember his last name, but I remember that he wore wire-rimmed glasses and always had the same book in his hand. The book was entitled Shogun and was a thousand pages thick. In between classes, at football games, and even at fraternity step shows, you would always see Charles with that book in his hand. Intrigued, I finally asked him what it was about. I remember him telling me that it was about Japanese history. To an 18 year old kid from Brooklyn, New York who liked fashion and basketball, that was weird to me. I remember shaking my head and walking away, fully convinced that Charles needed a girlfiend.

Well it seems that Charles wasn’t so weird after all. Earlier this year, that book was turned into a television series that streamed on Hulu. After seeing a billboard advertising the series, I decided to watch it in honor of Charles. Of course you probably know what hapenned: I absolutely loved it.

Brief history lesson: for almost 700 years, the shoguns were the supreme military and political commanders of Japan. As de facto heads of state, they administered trade, supervised domestic and foreign policy, and issued national laws. The novel Shogun is a work of historical fiction about one of the greatest shoguns, a legendary warrior named Toranaga. The series is based on the novel, and I watched every episode in a day. The series has everything I love: philosophy, history, politics, leadership, and a Shakesperean analysis of human behavior. It’s great stuff! One of my favorite takeaways from the series came in the final scene of the final episode. Toranaga is on the verge of achieving his ambition of becoming Shogun. One of the men who he has outmanuevered asks him “How does it feel to shape the wind to your will?” And Toranaga replies, “I don't shape the wind; I only study it.”

That statement and the philosophy behind it blew me away (no pun intended lol) What he is saying is that he does not (and cannot) control events. Instead, he studies them, seeks to understand the forces at play and then adjust his actions accordingly. In other words, he finds out which way the wind is blowing. To me, this was a revolutionary concept. Usually when we hear the expression that someone “goes whichever way the wind blows,” it is not a compliment. It is usually an insult, ascribed to someone who lacks conviction, stability or purpose. To accuse someone of “going whichever way the wind blows” is to accuse them of duplicity, deception, and often disloyalty.

But watching that series has changed my perception of that idea. To find out which way the wind is blowing means that effective people study their environment. They pay attention to the factors, forces, and features of whatever situation they are in. They seek to understand the background, personality, and values of the people they have to deal with. Going which way the wind blows doesn’t always mean that you don’t have an engine, an anchor or a helm. It means that sometimes you realize that in order to achieve some results its better to let the wind do the work for you.

The Apostle Paul’s great ambition was to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the city of Rome. Rome was the greatest city of the greatest empire of his day. Paul was able to achieve his goal—but not without the wind. The last two chapters of the book of Acts describe the perilous journey that Paul endured in order to achieve his objective. Many years ago I copied one of the verses about his journey that after all these years finally has come alive to me. Acts 28:13 says:

We sailed from Syracuse and arrived at the city of Rhegium. The next day a south wind began to blow, and two days later we arrived at the city of Puteoli.

Apart from a knowledge of ancient geography, that verse means nothing. But ancient Puteoli is modern day Pozzouli. I have been to that city. It is a harbor city in southern Italy, not far from Naples. When Paul says that he arrived in Puteoli, he is saying that he has finally arrived on Italian soil. Puteloli is only 170 miles from Rome. So what this verse means is that when Paul landed in Puteoil, he was only 170 miles away from the main ambition of his life. And how did it all happen? How did Paul arrive? The south wind blew!

A great ship and an excellent captain are insufficient tools to reach your destination. To reach your final destination, you will also need the wind.

God is getting ready to send the south winds of his favor to blow in your direction.

Watch the wind. Find out which way it’s blowing.

And let the winds do the work.