Desert bloomHarmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon that falls on the mountains of Zion. And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing, even life everlasting. Psalm 133:3

Normally, when we think of a desert we think of a harsh wilderness with little or no plant-life. A climate that has little value or beauty. Nothing could be further from the truth! The desert can actually be a very beautiful place. It may not have lakes with sky-blue water, or luscious grass and shade producing trees, but even without these things, Deserts can be far from a harsh wasteland of nothing-ness.

What allows the desert to be able to produce such beauty? The answer may be dew!

Professor Pinhas Alpert of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences states that, even though dew is considered a nuisance in some areas, it is actually very beneficial for plant growth. This is especially true in arid areas of the world.

In temperate zones of the world, plants grow best in the middle of the day, when the most sunlight is available. But in arid areas, plants tend to shut down during the hottest part of the day to preserve moisture. They grow best in the early morning hours and it could very well be due to dew!

Dew surrounds the plant with much needed moisture from the air. Moisture the plant needs to grow healthy and strong so that it can withstand the harsh climate of arid areas. Alpert states, “In the early morning, dew surrounds the leaves of a plant with moisture, and the plant does not close its stomata. Therefore, it can grow.”

Just as dew protects the plant and spurs its growth, the psalmist says that harmony protects the human soul and allows it to be healthy. Our world is full of crisis. Families are in disarray, our political system is broken, new diseases seem to be developing every day and natural disasters seem to be just around the corner.

The best way to keep our spiritual and emotional health is to be surrounded by the ‘dew’ of harmony that can only be found in close relationship to Jesus Christ and our Christian family. To neglect those two essentials is to abandon the one thing that will help us grow strong when life becomes a wilderness.

Hebrews 10:25 tells us to never avoid the opportunity to fellowship. Fellowship creates the ‘dew’ of harmony we need to endure the wilderness.

PRAYER: Father God, surround us with the dew of sweet harmony we can only get through the indwelling of your Holy Spirit. Surround us with your love and protect us from the harsh world in which we live. Amen.