It is easy to do things by rote. I do. I have exercise routines that I don’t have to think about. When I am doing my dishes I can think about other things. When it comes to reading my Bible, praying, or being still before the Lord, I need to be present.

What happens in relationships when we nod as though we are listening, but really we are not present? I was reading Job yesterday and this verse just stopped me. It caused me to reel in my mind and be present. What did the Holy Spirit want to speak to me?

Job 4:6 was something Eliphaz asked Job. It says, “Is not your reverence your confidence? And the integrity of your ways your hope?” Eliphaz was questioning Job’s true reliance.

Psalm 62:5 says, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” I asked myself: is my hope truly in God alone, or does it cross over into what He might do for me?

I think it can easily become a trap of the enemy. Proverbs 25:19 addressed the issue of reliance on someone or something. It says, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.”

Psalm 31:24 says, “Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” When we hope in God alone, He will support and stabilize our heart in times of trouble.

Being present is being fully aware of our thoughts. When they start to look at man or things, we need to reel every thought back in. Moses allowed the symphony of complaints to fill his mind. He acted on his thoughts. He was not present with what the Lord had specifically instructed him to do. It cost him dearly.

Jeremiah 17:7 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.”