As I read through the book of Job this time, I have noticed something I wasn’t aware of before. Job is in the present. He is pouring out his heart to the Lord. Yet, his ‘friends’ are dragging things in from the past. They are questioning Job’s heart-words.

Yet Job’s questioning brought his heart back to stability through truth. Job 23:6 says, “Would He contend with me in His great power?…” The answer would be no. No one or thing can stand under God’s power. Job went on to say, “…No! But He would take note of me.” Aren’t those precious words?

Job 7:17-18 says, “What is man, that You should exalt him, that You should set Your heart on him, that You should visit him every morning, and test him every moment?”

God walked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the day. At 5:30 this morning I was walking in the cool of the day. Everything was quiet. I was the one to break through the cobwebs. I was enjoying the sun’s blush of light. I was walking in the Presence of the Lord.

Job 10:12 says, “You have granted me life and favor, and Your care has preserved my spirit.” The word preserved in the Hebrew means: to guard, keep, protect, watch over, care for, and safe keep.

At every moment of Job’s complex trial, the Lord was preserving him. He never took his eyes off Job. He did not get angry at Job’s questions like Job’s ‘friends’ did.

Here is what I noticed. When someone is upset, and they are pouring out their heart’s woes to us, we need to remain in the present. We will not be able to hone in on their present pain if we are reaching back into what we know about them in the past.

When we are not present with them, we will pull data from their past experiences which will cloud the moment. Our words, like Job’s ‘friends’ words, will tear them apart, rather than build them up. Their past does not define them. We need to hear their words in order to minister in the now to their heart through God’s stabilizing truth.