Spurgeon: August AM
* 08/11/AM
"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.