One day last week, I went outside before sunrise to do my Bible study because it was one of the first cool mornings we’ve had in months. I even had to go back inside and get a blanket from the couch to throw around me for a bit.
As I sat there enjoying the cool, quiet of the morning, I noticed a tiny something shining in the grass nearby. I sat and pondered it for a moment because it was so bright that it literally looked like a diamond. Then, I wondered if it could be an extremely small lightning bug.
I came to the conclusion that it had to be a drop of dew, even though I had never seen one so singularly bright and separated like that before. It really looked like a magnificently shining little diamond. So much so, that it looked like it was glowing or iridescent.
Just as I was about to get up from my chair to investigate it, the sun burst forth, and when I turned back from admiring the sunlight, I watched as the tiny perfect dew dop began to grow smaller in size. It was kind of heartbreaking to know that it would eventually be soaked up by the blade of grass or evaporate, so I sadly turned my head and began to ponder and pray.
I thanked God for allowing me to witness the beauty of something so tiny and yet so marvelous. It was truly a gift to my aching and grieving heart. It reminded me that we serve a God so big and powerful that He merely spoke – and our world came into existence.
Yet, our omnipotent God fashioned this brilliant dewdrop and gave it to me as a gift. Me, out of a zillion people in the world right now. That precious drop was presented to me alone at the perfect time in the perfect spot. Nowhere else in my yard or on my patio would I have seen that dewdrop. A few moments before or after the first rays of sunrise, I would have missed this mighty miracle altogether. What a minute but mind-boggling experience for me.
Instantly, I was reminded of the questions God asked another grieving parent long ago in Job 38. In fact, one of the pastors used this passage at our son’s homegoing celebration last June. So, it was very familiar and dear to me. But as I opened my Bible and reread it that dew-filled morning, verse 28 captured my eye and my heart: “Does the rain have a father? Who fathers the drops of dew?”
I knew full well who fathered that tiny drop of dew, the same Father who loved me so much that even now, He is holding my precious boy till we get home with them both. And He is the same Father who loves me so much that He saved one tiny drop of distilled dew just for me. Is that not amazing?
So, I began to study dew in the Bible that day, and the days since then, and I learned a few things that you may already know.
Psalm 133 (NIV) says:
How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
From this ancient passage, I learned that biblical scholars believe dew symbolizes brotherhood and unity of the body of Christ. In turn, dew also symbolizes the precious Holy Spirit, the One who draws us together from every tribe, tongue, and nation and unites us as a brotherhood of believers. Truly, His Spirit binds us together by the blood of our precious Savior Jesus Christ.
It all starts with Jesus.
But when I studied further, I found some other interesting facts about dew, and just as He always does, God began to use what I learned to minister to me in my mourning.
First, I was reminded that dew comes during the dark of night. Of course, we all realize this fact, but I never thought of it in comparison to the darkest “night times” of life. The times when people cry themselves to sleep over deep, heart-rending problems.
For our family, there have been many nights of missing our son and feeling the gaping hole he left in our hearts. Nobody but God knows and sees those night-time tears, but the Bible says in Psalms 56:8 that He collects each tear in His bottle and even records them. And someday, we will gladly pour those collected tears out on our Redeemer’s feet as a love offering in grateful worship for God saving us, saving our boy, and reuniting us forever in Him.
Next, I began to ponder the way that dew arrives silently. Again, this is one of those “duh” facts that we all know. But think of it in the context of our own daily existence. Or better yet, look backward and think about it in the context of biblical characters. After all, human emotions have pretty much been the same throughout time.
For example, we read in 1 Kings 19, that Elijah (like us) grew weary of the battles, even the epic, world-shaking battles he won. In his weariness, anxiety, and fear, the mighty Elijah (again, like us) was desperate for a fresh word from God, some divine encouragement to help him get back up and keep going. But Elijah’s inspiration did not come in the wind, the earthquake, or even the fire; the voice of God spoke to the desolate prophet in a still small whisper – much like the silent nightfall of dew.
And because it comes quietly in the darkness before dawn, I was reminded that dew is easier to see early in the morning. That’s also the best time to visit with God. “Early will I seek thee,” declares the psalmist in the first verse of Chapter 62. And Psalm 5:3 explains that God hears us in the morning when we bring him the sacrificial first fruits of our day to Him.
I must admit that on most days, it is a chore for me to rise early and commune with God. I would prefer late-night appointments with Him. But when I do as Romans 12 instructs me to do and bring my body as a living sacrifice to God and do it first thing in the morning, my entire day is more productive and peaceful.
In those wee hours of the day, we will see the dew that has fallen from the sky. But if we stop and gaze a bit, we see this newly fallen dew follows a downward path to the earth. So, if we really want to experience God’s daily refreshing in our lives, then we need to get closer to the ground as well.
We must humble ourselves, seek His face, turn from our sinfulness, and pray. Then, God is sure to answer our prayers and bring us our daily bread – just as He fed the Israelites each morning with His manna, right after the dew fell.
That said, even in the lives of dedicated, praying Christians, hard times come. Just like our favorite Bible heroes, we all go through some fiery trials at times, times that seem too hard to handle and inexplicable to our human, finite minds. But take heart for dew only comes after days of heat and sunshine.
So, it must get hot, maybe even fiery hot, for God to produce His dew in our lives. First Peter 1:7 (KJV) tells us that,
the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and glory and honor at the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Sadly, many believers will fall by the wayside and give up when times get too tough, or too hot. That reality mirrors another truth I learned in my recent studies: Dew does not fall everywhere. I never really pondered that fact, but it makes sense. As we learned earlier, dew can only fall in places where the hot sun has been shining.
One of the most interesting spots where dew falls is Mount Hermon, the highest peak in Israel at over 9200 feet. The dew there is different from other places; it is a fine mist that literally puddles so thickly each morning that those towering limestone formations cannot hold it all. So, the puddles of dew trickle down to the hot valleys and dry plains below, making this biblical Promised Land verdant green, alive, and prosperous.
Now, please note that the dew falling on Mount Hermon today will not be flowing into the Jordan River tomorrow. It is not an overnight process, but it is a continual, life-giving cycle that God instituted and continues to oversee. And without God’s dew-fed water cycle, the lands below Mount Hermon would be dry and barren, without much life.
Which brings me back to me and my family. (Maybe, back to you as well.)
This is a dry, barren time for us. By far, it is the hardest road we have ever walked. But just as the tiny drop of dew that I saw last week reminded me, God will bring water into our dryness if we but wait on him.
It may not feel good or easy, and it might be a longer process than we want, but He will use even this fiery trial of grief to produce a harvest in us. And if we wait on Him and heed His life-giving Words of life, I believe this time will also bring a harvest of souls into His kingdom.
That was our son’s greatest prayer before his death. He wanted to make sure that all of his family, friends, students, and athletes had a lasting, eternal relationship with the Lord.
And I truly believe that Coach Chris Lucius’ one prayer, like a single drop of dew, can be the start of a flood of saved souls.
So, please pray with our family for revival: “Let it begin with us.”
