Ode to the One Who Controls the Winds

Over the last two decades, we’ve found our way up to the quaint, if not contrived, alpine-inspired village of Helen, GA a handful of times. A marvelous marketing success story, Helen transformed itself almost overnight from a dying lumber town into a quaint Bavarian-styled village that soon became a destination unto itself. That was in 1969, and just four years later, the town would first play host to the nation’s only point to point balloon race. And as it turns out, this year marked the fiftieth annual Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race & Festival – and our very first trip to this wonderful event.

And, as one would expect for such a special anniversary, balloonists and spectators came from far and wide to participate in this milestone celebration. The pinnacle of the weekend’s festivities each year is the Race to the Atlantic, where dozens of balloons take to the sky, navigating the winds and exploiting the terrain to become the first to cross I-95. Best case scenario, this race is a minimum of 205 miles, though being at the whim of the winds, the route is seldom so direct. Typically, the race takes two days, though it has occasionally been completed in one. But this year proved to be much more challenging.

The rules of the race allow for competitors to start any time in a two day window, and the winner is the one who crosses I-95 first, or if no one has made it that far, the one who is furthest along at sunset on the second day. But because a balloon can only travel at the same speed and direction as the wind, pilots can often find themselves in a pickle. This year made that point abundantly clear. With strong prevailing winds from the east on the first day, only three balloons made an attempt, hugging the contours of the mountains and at times, hovering just inches from the trees, as they tried to eek out an easterly path, but to no avail.

On the second day, the prevailing winds were still largely against the balloonists, but as it was all or nothing at this point, many of the competitors took to the air in hopes of finding just the right current to coax them toward the ocean. In the end, it became not a race to see who could get closest to the Atlantic, but rather who could drift the least amount away from the Atlantic while achieving the minimum requirement of exiting the county. In then end, Bill Smith and his vibrantly spiraled balloon from Simpsonville, KY took the top prize, traveling just 16 miles over four and a half hours.

Despite the tricky winds, the weather was perfect for the Balloon Festival – especially in the mornings and evenings – when dozens of brightly-colored balloons took to the air, either tethered, or for local flights around the picturesque mountain scenes surrounding Helen.

But beyond the beautiful vistas, I can’t help but thinking on God’s sovereign rule over the natural world. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve gone out to a location, hoping for a beautiful sunrise or sunset, only to have the clouds roll in or the fog not lift, squashing my plans for that perfect photo. At times, it has been really frustrating. Chances are we’ve all experienced weather-related disappointments. Earlier this week, one of my friends was reminiscing about a trip to Charleston, SC to see the 2017 Total Solar Eclipse, and while the moon did indeed fully blocked the sun as it passed over, a thick cloud later fully blocked this rare display.

“For I know that the Lord is great And that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps. He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings forth the wind from His treasuries.”

Psalm 135:5-7, NASB 1995

I am sure there was many a balloonist that was similarly frustrated with the winds, not understanding why the weather just wasn’t going there way. But when God uses nature to ruin our plans, it is for a purpose – and that’s doubly true for the believer. Psalm 135 reminds us that the Lord does whatever He pleases – and often what the Lord pleases and what pleases us can be at odds. So, how should we respond?

Job, too, had an encounter with unfavorable winds – winds so devastating that it leveled a house, killing all of is children (Job 1:18f). In little more than an instant, Job lost his livelihood, his family, and would soon lose his health. And, for the next thirty-seven chapters, Job, his wife, and his friends wrestle with why it would please the Lord to allow such suffering to befall this righteous man. Then the Lord spoke, and makes clear the He alone is God, and there is no other, prompting Job’s own repentance and revelation, declaring that the things of the Lord are too wonderful for him to know.

“Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”

Job 43:1-3, NASB 1995

As we’ve discussed elsewhere, the beauty of God’s absolute sovereignty is that it is inexorably intertwined with His goodness. Doubly true in the ultimate experience of the Christian, we can take comfort knowing that no matter where the winds (whether literal or figurative) in this life blow, no matter how blustery or gentle, God is at work, purposing all of it for our greatest good and His unending glory. And all of it, a fruit of the work of Jesus on the Cross – on which the furious winds of God’s wrath battered the Son of God in our stead, that we might partake in the blessings that only Christ deserves. To God be the glory!

Want to see more? please feel free to pay a visit to our full gallery here.