Dew Comes in the Morning

As I think over my life, of all of the ups and downs, I can’t help but thank God for His faithfulness. In times when it felt like life was never going to get better, God showed up and turned things around for me. I’m sure we all have stories of when God stepped into a situation and turned it around.

I don’t know about you but often time, it’s in the darkest hours of the day that I am tossing and turning with anxieties and worries. Whether it’s worrying about finances or our children or our aging parents or work-related stresses, it seems like when the day comes to an end and it’s quiet, that is when we are most vulnerable and susceptible to the “what if monster”.  What if I’m failing my kids? What if we can’t pay the mortgage? What if my mom gets sick? What if I don’t do well on that presentation? It’s in the dark and lonely hours of the night that we wrestle. But I have some good news for you…

As I did a quick Google search on what time dew forms, I learned that the dew forms at the lowest temperature of the day. In the dark, at the lowest and coldest and maybe loneliest part of the day, before the sun rises, before the birds sing, before the world awakes, the dew forms. What this tells me is that when we are wrestling with our own thoughts and fears, God is working on our behalf to bless us, provide for us, and sustain us for another day. Isn’t it amazing to think that at the same time that we’re struggling, God is blessing us? 

Friends, the good news is that the dew comes in the morning. Regardless of what your night looked like, regardless of how hard it was, the dew comes in the morning. God is faithful. In our darkest, lowest parts of our life, God is still there. He is still providing. He is still blessing. He is still intentional. He is still good. 

Top-Down Approach

I don’t know if you have ever noticed that the dew on each blade of grass starts at the top. The dew is on the top of the grass and as the morning continues, the dew drips down towards the ground and nourishes the ground. As I did some quick research, I read that the dew helps to do three specific things: (1) the dew helps PROTECT t the leaves by helping it retain moisture so that the leaves or blades of grass can be more resistant to hot, dry conditions; (2) the dew helps to REDUCE STRESS for the plant; and (3) the dew helps to FEED OTHERS species by providing hydration for those particular species. Okay now that you have had a quick botany study, what does this have to do with our learning about God? 

My husband and I have continually talked to our children (especially our teenager) about being under our “covering”. We illustrate this idea using an umbrella and we explain to them that when they are obedient, they are under our umbrella (or our covering). Because they are following our rules, being respectful, and honoring what we say, they are under our protection. However, if and when they decide to not obey and not honor, they are then on their own. And we explain how it’s the same concept in our relationship with God. When we are being obedient and honoring God, we are under His covering. But as soon as we step out of that obedience and honor, we are no longer under the covering of God and that’s when we find ourselves in situations that we don’t want to be in.

This parenting lesson that we teach our children reminded me of the dew. The dew starts at the top and then covers the rest of the blade below it. Not only that but it then saturates the ground around it. In the same way, when God decides to bless you, He is not only blessing you, He is also blessing those under you. It’s a top-down approach. When God blesses my husband with a new career opportunity or a new ministerial opportunity or with a vision for our family or even a Word from the Lord, it doesn’t only bless my husband. It blesses all of us. It blesses me and then it continues to flow down and bless our children. And then, because we are overflowing and are saturated with the blessing, we then bless those around us. 

The dew protects and that protection covers everything under it. Like we read about in our botany study, the dew protects from stressful conditions. Where we feel like we may not be able to make it, the dew comes along and protects, nourishes and hydrates. So my question to you is who are you under? Is it a parent? Is it a spouse? It is a pastor? Is it a mentor? Who is the person who is covering you? I would reason that if you’re currently not under someone, you are more exposed to the stressful conditions of life. You are more susceptible to being scorched. And then the next question I would ask is who are you covering? Is it a spouse? A child? A family member? A friend? Who is the person(s) that is being impacted by the blessings that God has intentionally given you? We all have a role to play here. We should all be covered and we should also be covering.

Grass grows in bunches. On purpose and for a purpose. It has more of a chance to thrive when it’s thick and lush. When grass is scattered, it is easily choked out by the weeds. Life is meant to be done with others. And someone is depending on your dew.

Take time to reflect on how God has blessed you to be a blessing to others. Thank God for all of those that He has entrusted into your care. And appreciate those that He has put over you that have protected you and blessed you when you weren’t even aware.

The Dew of God is Intentional

I always assumed God pressed His “dew button” in the morning and BOOM! There comes the dew. Recently, however, when studying the story of Gideon, the Holy Spirit revealed something to me. 

In the story of Gideon in Judges 6, we see that Gideon asks God for a sign with the dew. Gideon wants to confirm that he truly is hearing from God and so he asks God for confirmation and what he says is this: “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on the ground, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” The next verse starts with “And it was so.” 

Although I’ve read this particular passage so many times, the Holy Spirit highlighted it for me this time. What I recognized is that God doesn’t just press the “dew button” and that there drops the bucket of dew all over the land. That’s not how it works at all. No. God in all of His infinite power and ability, intentionally places the dew where He wants. Think about that for a moment. God decides which blades of grass will get dew and which blades of grass won’t. How do we know? Because of Gideon’s request. Gideon requests that dew be in some places and not in others and God allows for that. That helps us reason and understand that the dew of God is intentional.

This means, friends, that God decides who He will bless and provide for and give sustenance to. It’s not a broad-stroke approach. It’s not a careless pouring down of dew. It’s a thoughtful, deliberate blessing that He gives. In my mind, I think of the infamous Oprah quote “You get a car! And YOU get a car! Everyone gets a car!” God says “I will bless her today.” “I will bless him today.” “I will bless them today.” “I will bless their children today.” And it’s not based on anything WE do. It’s based solely on the goodness of God. It’s because of His great love for us that He decides that He will make the sun rise today and give you breath in your lungs and if He did nothing else all day, you would be blessed just because you have the ability to read this right now when someone else does not.

Anytime you feel that you’re not worthy or that you’re not of value or that you are not loved, take a look outside at the dew in the morning. Understand that God is intentional with all that He does. He didn’t just create you among the masses. He knows you by name. He calls you by name. And He blesses you by name. 

The Goodness of God

There is a song that brings me to tears every time I hear it. It’s called “Goodness of God” by Bethel Music. The lyrics of the chorus say “All my life You have been faithful. All my life You have been so, so good. With every breath that I am able. I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God.” As we learned yesterday, the dew of God is an example of His goodness and faithfulness towards us. 

Growing up in church, there was a call and response that we would say. Someone would say aloud “God is good all the time” and the hearers would respond “All the time, God is good.” Although it was a cliche in the church, it’s a true statement. God is good. All of the time. And His dew reminds us of this. 

In the Bible, we read in Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” God is so faithful to us, even when we are not faithful to Him. Although we doubt Him and His power, goodness, love, forgiveness, and ability, God continues to be faithful to us. The Bible is full of stories of His people turning against Him. How many times did the Israelites turn away from God and yet God continued to bless them? The entire gospel message revolves around the point that out of God’s great love for us, He sent His Son to die on the cross for us so that we can be in relationship with Him. He did this knowing that we would deny Him, that we would turn away from Him, that we would run from Him. And yet He gives everything for us – over and over again. New mercies daily. New provisions daily. New blessings daily. New sustenance daily. New dew EVERY morning. God is good.

Aren’t you thankful that God’s goodness isn’t dependent upon us? Thank God that His goodness isn’t based on our works. It’s not a reward that is given at the end of the day. He doesn’t have a checklist of the criteria that we are to meet during the day and then because of what we’ve done, He decides to bless us. He just gives us of His dew because He is just that good.

I would encourage you today to just take a moment to thank God for His goodness. Thank God for His faithfulness to you. Thank God that He is good all of the time. And all of the time, He is good. It’s not just a catchy cliche.