“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, 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 Ghost—‘renewing of the Holy Ghost.’

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 drooping for lack of dew. Beloved fellow-worker, you recognize the folly of a laboring man attempting to do his day’s work without eating. Do you recognize the folly of a servant of God attempting to minister without eating of the heavenly manna? Nor will it suffice to have spiritual nourishment occasionally. Every day you must receive the renewing of the Holy Ghost. You know when your whole being is pulsating with the vigor and freshness of Divine life and when you feel jaded and worn. 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 spiritual dew comes from quiet lingering in the Master’s presence. Get still before Him. Haste will prevent your receiving the 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 Christ.” (Streams in the Desert)

I cannot get accustomed to being apart from my wife, and never want to. I still get giddy each morning that I’m home to brew her coffee and hand-deliver it as soon as she awakens. Text messages or phone calls suffice when I am forced to be away, but they cannot replace the sweet conversation and tender touch that starts the day for both of us in the right frame of heart. This is not marital dharma—some duty that I drag with me into each day; no, this is delight run amuck, romance and reverence all rolled into one. In a similar way, the believer knows firsthand that joy unspeakable awaits when we pursue the Father as delight rather than drudgery. Wait with Him until you are conscious of Him. Listen for Him until you have heard Him speak. Love Him all the more because He is the one object of greatest desire. Be satisfied, yet long for Him still.

We taste Thee, O Thou Living Bread,

And long to feast upon Thee still:

We drink of Thee, the Fountainhead

And thirst our souls from Thee to fill.

(Bernard of Clairveaux)