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"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.
(C.H. Spurgeon's Morning and Evening)
