Morning, August 11
Go To Evening Reading
“Oh that I were as in months past.”
Job 29:2
Numbers of Christians can view the past with pleasure, but regard
the present with dissatisfaction; they look back upon the days which
they have passed in communing with the Lord as being the sweetest
and the best they have ever known, but as to the present, it is clad
in a sable garb of gloom and dreariness. Once they lived near to Jesus,
but now they feel that they have wandered from him, and they say,
“O that I were as in months past!” They complain that they have lost their evidences, or that they have
not present peace of mind, or that they have no enjoyment in the means
of grace, or that conscience is not so tender, or that they have not
so much zeal for God’s glory. The causes of this mournful state of things are manifold.
It may arise through a comparative neglect of prayer , for a neglected closet is the beginning of all spiritual decline.
Or it may be the result of idolatry . The heart has been occupied with something else, more than with
God; the affections have been set on the things of earth, instead
of the things of heaven. A jealous God will not be content with a
divided heart; he must be loved first and best. He will withdraw the
sunshine of his presence from a cold, wandering heart. Or the cause
may be found in self-confidence and self-righteousness . Pride is busy in the heart, and self is exalted instead of lying
low at the foot of the cross. Christian, if you are not now as you
“were in months past,” do not rest satisfied with wishing for a return of former happiness, but go at once to seek your Master,
and tell him your sad state. Ask his grace and strength to help you
to walk more closely with him; humble yourself before him, and he
will lift you up, and give you yet again to enjoy the light of his
countenance. Do not sit down to sigh and lament; while the beloved
Physician lives there is hope, nay there is a certainty of recovery
for the worst cases.