Job 29:1–3: “Job further continued his discourse, and said: ‘Oh, that I were as in months past, as in the days when God watched over me; when His lamp shone upon my head, and when by His light I walked through darkness;'”

December 24th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Job was longing for the good-old days, for the days when he felt God had been watching over him. However, Job’s assessment of his present situation was not accurate. God had allowed Satan to take his best shot at Job. And because his life became difficult and painful, Job felt that the intimacy he had once had with God was suddenly missing. His former days had been better than his present ones; nevertheless, God was still watching over him and holding Satan back from killing him. It didn’t feel like that to Job, and he couldn’t look at his circumstances and see that fact; but his feelings and limited sight didn’t make it any less true. Looking from the outside, we know that what seemed like a loss of intimacy to Job was actually God proving to Satan that Job would remain a righteous man, even if he lost his wealth, family, and health. Over the course of Job’s suffering, he was learning firsthand what Solomon would write many years later: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, / And lean not on your own understanding” (Prov. 3:5).

Many believers seem to struggle with these kinds of thoughts: “Oh, for the good-old days, when the living was easy.” No matter how like a bed of roses our lives may be, there will always be thorns; because life is filled with things that go wrong: people get hurt, illnesses strike, hearts get broken. There is a danger of missing the good things of the present moment because we are dwelling too much on our own romanticized memories of the past. Interestingly, the good old days, if we really examine them critically, are not nearly as good as we first remember them to be. We can learn from Job that what we feel and see is rarely the whole story. So when we find that we are unable to change our circumstances, we must pray, accept, trust God, and choose a good attitude; remembering to be thankful for the blessings that can still be found even in the midst of a storm. An army chaplain spoke to a wounded soldier who was in a VA hospital after returning from Afghanistan, “You have lost an arm in a good cause.” “No,” said the soldier with a smile. “I didn’t lose it—I gave it.” Many things can be taken from us except our ability to trust the Lord and choose a thankful attitude.

“LORD, we choose to give away our lives to You this day.”

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Job 29 KJV

¹ Moreover Job continued his parable, and said,  ² Oh that I were as in months past, as in the days when God preserved me; ³ When his candle shined upon my head, and when by his light I walked through darkness;  ⁴ As I was in the days of my youth, when the secret of God was upon my tabernacle; ⁵ When the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were about me; ⁶ When I washed my steps with butter, and the rock poured me out rivers of oil; ⁷ When I went out to the gate through the city, when I prepared my seat in the street! ⁸ The young men saw me, and hid themselves: and the aged arose, and stood up. ⁹ The princes refrained talking, and laid their hand on their mouth. ¹⁰ The nobles held their peace, and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.  ¹¹ When the ear heard me , then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me , it gave witness to me: ¹² Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. ¹³ The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. ¹⁴ I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. ¹⁵ I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. ¹⁶ I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. ¹⁷ And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.  ¹⁸ Then I said, I shall die in my nest, and I shall multiply my days as the sand. ¹⁹ My root was spread out by the waters, and the dew lay all night upon my branch.  ²⁰My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand.   ²¹ Unto me men gave ear, and waited, and kept silence at my counsel. ²² After my words they spake not again; and my speech dropped upon them. ²³ And they waited for me as for the rain; and they opened their mouth wide as for the latter rain. ²⁴ If I laughed on them, they believed it not; and the light of my countenance they cast not down. ²⁵ I chose out their way, and sat chief, and dwelt as a king in the army, as one thatcomforteth the mourners.