“I will be as the dew unto Israel” (Hosea 14:5).
The dew is a source of freshness. It is nature’s provision for renewing the face of the earth. It falls at night, in the dark. And without it the vegetation would die. It is this great value of the dew which is so often recognized in the Scriptures. It is used as the symbol of spiritual refreshing. Just as nature is bathed in dew, so the Lord renews His people. In Titus 3:5 the same thought of spiritual refreshing is connected with the ministry of the Holy Spirit– “renewing of the Holy Spirit.”
Many Christian workers do not recognize the importance of the Heavenly dew in their lives, and as a result they lack freshness and vigor. Their spirits are wilting for lack of dew.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ. We all recognize the folly of a working person attempting to do their day’s work without eating. In a similar way, we can recognize the folly of a Christian attempting to minister to others without eating of the heavenly manna themselves. How could it suffice to have spiritual nourishment, just occasionally? Every day we must receive the renewing of God’s Holy Educating Holy Spirit. We all know when our whole being is pulsating with the vigor and freshness of Divine life, and sadly too, when we feel wore down and depleted.
God’s holy, educating Spirit is in His word. A light, a new and precious light, shines forth from every page. Truth is there revealed, and words and sentences are made bright and appropriate for the occasion, as the voice of God speaking to the soul. {COL 132.2}
Quietness and absorption bring the dew. At night when the leaf and blade are still, the vegetable pores are open to receive the refreshing and invigorating bath; so too does spiritual dew come from the quiet moments in the Master’s presence. It is everyone’s privilege to be still before Jesus. Our hurrying and rushing will prevent us from receiving the desperately needed morning dew. Wait before God until you feel saturated with His presence; then go forth to your next duty with the conscious freshness and vigor of “the truth as it is in Jesus.”
“…those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.(Isa 40:31, AFV)
Dew will never gather while there is either heat or wind. The temperature must fall, and the wind must cease. The air must come to a point of coolness and rest– absolute rest, so to speak– before it can yield up its invisible particles of moisture to water the herb or flower. So too, the grace of God does not come forth to rest our soul until the still point is fairly and fully reached.
For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling, (Isa 30:15, ESV)
In today’s hectic world of craziness and turmoil we may wait for him “in quietness and confidence.” No amount of fast talking or aggressive, hasty activity will ever speed up God’s grand design. As Christians today, we have nothing to say to God but thank you. Salvation comes from God alone. Because he has saved us, and because Christ alone empowers us, we can trust him and be peacefully confident that he will give us strength to face our difficulties. We should lay aside our well-laid plans and allow God alone to act.
We need a calm waiting upon God. The need of this is all-important. It is not the noise and bustle we make in the world which proves our usefulness. Let us by our own, personal experience see how silently God works. We cannot usually hear the noise of His steps, and yet He is walking about us, laboring for our good. (Gen 3:8) Jesus did not seek for notoriety; His life-giving virtue was going out to the needy and the afflicted , as the fresh morning dew,through His silent actions, whose influence ended up extending far into all countries of the world, and was felt and expressed in the life of millions of people. Those who desire to labor with God have need of His Spirit every day; they need to walk and labor in meekness and humility of spirit, without seeking to accomplish extraordinary things, satisfied to do the work before them and doing it faithfully. Other people may not see or appreciate their efforts, but the names of these faithful children of God are written in heaven among His noblest workers, as scattering His seed in view of a glorious harvest.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits” {4BC 1144.1}