Joshua 24:15 But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”
Learning to take the dew of heaven and serve the Lord over chasing the riches of this world is a choice of the heart and not an easy one to make. Choosing to live in the realm of the spirit while living in the natural world is a practised skill. The things of heaven sometimes have a sense of being somewhere out there, while the things of this world are right in our faces. The choice between something of heavenly worth and something that meets the temporal need is difficult when the flesh craves immediate fulfillment. Matt. 6:20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Asking God for healing when it is just as easy to reach for the prescriptions in the medicine cabinet while in the grips of major pain can be a hard decision.
Choosing the dew of heaven takes a relationship with God and a determination to obey and fulfill what God has called us to. Telling the truth instead of a lie in the middle of adversity takes courage. Being honest in business transactions is the right thing to do, even though one can get away with deception here and there. Prov. 20:23 The LORD detests double standards; he is not pleased by dishonest scales. We are not saved by the right things we do, but once we are saved, doing right is what we do. In 1981, I was attending bible college in Australia and working part-time at The Carrington Hotel. At that time, this hotel was already over a hundred years old and was popular for its period architecture and decorative ambiance. I was working in the maintenance department, repairing, scraping, and restoring the period wooden furniture and remodelling many of the old rooms. I learned a lot of new skills from the old craftsmen who worked there, and I enjoyed going to work because there was always something new to learn.
In those days, on payday, they would hand you an envelope containing a record of the hours worked, deductions made, and the total amount earned. I noticed on one occasion that they had overpaid me for half a day I did not work. I brought it up with the maintenance foreman, and he said, “You may as well keep it because of the paperwork it will cause in accounting.” This did not sit well in my spirit, and I prayed right away, asking God what to do. I said to the foreman, “No, this is what we will do. I will work the overpaid hours today, and we will not record my working hours for today. I will work for the amount that was overpaid, and this will not mess up accounting because you are the one who records the working hours.” Prov. 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.
With stunned silence and a nod, the foreman agreed to my terms, and I went to work. I did not realize the conversations this would cause over the next few days. At lunch time, I was questioned by the other workers (obviously, the foreman had talked about it) why I had not taken the money and just pocketed management’s error. I said, “How would that look to my boss? I work for the King of kings and Lord of lords. How would He look down on a bit of graft and soft theft? You all know that I am a Christian attending the bible college down the road. What would you be saying about me and the college if I did keep the money? Sometimes we have to make hard choices, and this choice is an easy one because the foreman and I worked out an easy solution.” Some of the workers argued a bit with me, claiming that – you have to take care of number one, and so on, but their justifications were weak and lame. I chose the dew of heaven rather than a fight with my conscience.
For me, there was no persecution, just a bit of gossip throughout the whole organization over the next week. However, for many others, righteous choices have cost them their lives. The three Hebrew lads who were faced with being thrown into the furnace for not bowing down to the king’s graven image chose to serve God, even if it was going to cost them their lives. In hindsight, we know that God saved them, but at the time, their words were courageous and forthright. Dan. 3:17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. They chose the dew of heaven over the trapping of power and governing positions. Daniel had to make the same choice over a similar situation. Again, God stopped the lions from tearing Daniel apart. However, at the time, Daniel was making a forthright choice with his heart, mind, and body.
When Joshua made his declaration of faith to the nation of Israel, he was in essence saying that the blessings of God were far more important than all that the gods of the local people could offer. Josh. 25:15b As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD! Choosing the life that is sometimes difficult because we are in the world and not of it can stretch our faith and personal resolve to the limits. However, the Word says that we can do all things through Christ, who gives us strength. He gives us the strength to make righteous choices and to live with those choices. When God first started talking to the nation of Israel, He continually asked them to choose life. Deut. 30:19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Let us choose the sweet dew of heaven so that our lives are saturated with God’s goodness. Let us be that sweet savour offering unto God. Living under the dew of heaven is a good place to be.
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