How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me. – Job 29:2

Today's Scripture Reading (September 8, 2024): Job 29

I periodically have the occasion to spend some time in the city where I spent a significant portion of my childhood and youth. My parents and sister still live in the north end of the city, not far from the place where I grew up. And sometimes, my mind and emotions wander back to that time of my life. I have to admit, there is more than a little melancholy about such memories. I often dwell on the things I wish I had done differently or remember pleasant memories of a time gone by.

I have friends who seem to spend most of their time remembering past times. It is not that the current time is unpleasant. The truth is actually the reverse; they love their lives and family. They enjoy the time spent with their children and grandchildren. Maybe they long for the excitement of times gone by. Maybe, but the nostalgic feelings of the human race are often a mystery.

The cause of Job's nostalgia was not a mystery. Job longed for times gone by, but his nostalgia was centered in the months gone by, not years, like me and my friends. Such a short time had passed since Job had experienced the wealth of his position in life, both in treasure and family. But not just that, it was a time when Job felt that God was watching over him. And he longed to possess that feeling one more time.

An unknown Psalmist, possibly King David, would write a Psalm generations later that would build on Job's desire.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore (Psalm 121).

Whether or not Job understood it, God was still watching over Job, and he would not stop watching over him any time soon.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Job 30