Pray the Word with David Platt is a resource from Radical.net.

Job chapter 29, verses 1 through 5.

And Job again took up his discourse and said,

Oh, that I were as in the months of old,

as in the days when God watched over me.

When his lamp shone on my head and by his light I walked through darkness, as I was in my prime, when the friendship of God was upon my tent,

when the Almighty was yet with me, when my children were all around me.

And he keeps going.

I could keep going.

The whole picture here in Job chapter 29 is Job looking back at better days and longing

for those better days, months of old, he says.

When God's lamp was shining on my head, I was in my prime, the friendship of God,

I felt upon my tent, the Almighty with me, my children, all around me. Things were so good then.

I think we can all relate to this. There are likely times we look back at in the past that we're particularly

sweet or we experience particular favor, just blessing from God in a variety of different ways.

And particularly when we're walking through hard days, hard months, hard years, it's only

natural to look back at those times and long for them.

And yet, Job's need here in Job 29 is to realize that, yes, yes, the circumstances are

very different.

His children are not all around him. They're all gone.

His health is gone. His possessions are gone. Like his life is in shambles. And yet, as he'll discover

in a few chapters, God the Almighty is still with him. The friendship of God is still on his tent and God is still watching over him.

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