I had allowed myself to get busy with life. It had been a while since I had taken extended time to sit still in God’s presence and wait on him. Repeatedly I felt the pull of His call to the Secret Place. So I carved out a few hours to be alone to worship and seek Him.
On my face in a time of prayer, I saw in the spirit a large tear shaped water drop. It was the size of my hand and rested in my palm. Sunlight glistened off its surface. I gazed in wonder at this liquid jewel.
In my heart I sensed that what I held in my hand was precious. It was as if I held the essence of treasuring God’s presence. Symbolically it was the “good part” that Mary chose as she sat at Jesus feet.* It was worth any price...any cost.
Then I heard the Lord whisper, “This is dew.”
Immediately I opened my Bible and began searching the Scriptures on dew.
“I will be like the dew--then you will blossom like lilies and have roots like a tree.” –Hosea 14:5 (CEV)
"Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew (my word settle like dew), As the droplets on the fresh grass and as the showers on the herb." -Deuteronomy 32:2 (NASB)(HCSB)
In our Western culture everything seems rushed. Multitasking is lauded. Media and electronics bombard us at every side and vie for our attention. It has become increasingly difficult to unplug. To sit in silence. To be still. To wait upon the Lord.
At least when I read my Bible or fill out a study page it looks like I did something. I have some sense of accomplishment.
Not so when it comes to sitting at Jesus' feet with no agenda but to be and listen. Sometimes I think that waiting, worshiping, and lingering (for the dew) feels like a waste of time. Like frittering time away. There is no box to check. There is no resulting product. It can feel in the natural that there is nothing to show for it. It evaporates...like the dew.
But oh my, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me through the following passages:
"When the dew fell on the camp at night, the manna would fall with it." -Numbers 11:9 (NASB)
"...In the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew evaporated, behold, on the surface of the wilderness there was a fine flake-like thing, fine as the frost on the ground."-Exodus 16:13a-14
Manna came WITH THE DEW. When the layer of dew evaporated, the bread from heaven REMAINED.
As I meditated on these scriptures, I felt God impressing on my heart that He carries a promise for those who will seek His presence. It is a promise for those who will waste time on Him and worship as Mary did. This promise is for those who will treasure the dew from heaven and cultivate the atmosphere of His presence.
Manna (living bread, God's rhema word, fresh revelation) will come WITH the dew. It will remain after the dew has evaporated. There will be something to show for lingering in His presence.
For those who teach the Word of God it can be easy to fall into a pattern of reading the Bible with the purpose of preparing a message or study questions. Reading and tarrying to KNOW Him can get pushed to the side. With the pressures of life on our time, it can feel like we have to choose between waiting on the Lord and preparing to minister the Word. May I encourage you that it is not a choice of one or the other-both come together. IN THE DEW THE FRESH WORD WILL COME.
Stillness is essential for dew to settle. Inner turbulence, rushing, and unrest must be quieted and cast on Jesus for the dew to alight.
The dew is not just for a select few. Dew is for everyone who is hungry and thirsty...for everyone who will answer Jesus' call to "Come."
Wait. Linger. Rest. Worship. Drink. Then as this dew drop time....this better portion moment comes to a close.....we can count on the fresh, daily bread of revelation to fall and remain. We will be left with something to chew on throughout the day. We will not leave empty. In waiting for the dew point, we will not leave dry. His presence will rest like dew. We will walk out of the secret place with droplets of His presence clinging to us. Our spirits will be full of the drink of heaven and our spiritual stomachs fully sated.
As I continued to ponder these things, a poem like a song began bubbling up from inside of me. I grabbed a pen and began to scribe as my Shepherd spoke : Linger a While...
by Deborah Valentine
(received 8-31-2018)
*Luke 10: 38-42
**Daniel 11:32
To be continued... Part 2: Maggots and Yesterday's Manna
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