The following has been adapted from Don Stewart’s FAQs, available at the BLB.
The Holy Spirit works in ways beyond our understanding. Jesus compared the Spirit to the wind:
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.
(John 3:8)
This reveals several things about the work of the Holy Spirit.
As He Desires
The Holy Spirit works in a sovereign manner. He works in the way He desires. The work of the Spirit is in accordance to the purposes of God. As the wind blows where it wishes, so the Spirit of God works where He desires.
Invisible
Like the wind, the work of the Holy Spirit cannot be seen with our eyes. We see the results of the wind but not the wind itself. The same holds true for the work of the Spirit. The Spirit’s work in a person’s life is invisible to everyone. Yet the results of that work-a changed life-can, like the results of the wind, be observed.
Powerful
We have all seen the wind whip up in a powerful manner. The Spirit also works in a powerful manner when He touches someone’s life.
On the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down upon believers, He did so accompanied by the sound of a mighty rushing wind.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
(Acts 2:2)
Consequently, we cannot limit His ministry. As the wind is invisible, powerful, and blows where it wishes, so also is the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must always be careful not to try to make Him conform to the way we believe He will work.