Hidden in my heart

We stayed three nights in the home of dear friends in the northeast of Scotland, two of which they were elsewhere. This was not the original plan. They had a long way traveling and thought the day they would be home was one day sooner so we didn’t get to visit as long as we wanted. They apologized several times for the muddle, but we had no doubt that their hearts are in the right place.

Having my heart in the right place is important to me too. Jesus said that out of the heart comes the deeds that we do and the words that we say. I make mistakes and yet if my heart is right, those good intentions (while not an excuse) tend to ease the discomfort of doing or saying the wrong thing.

God wants the heart right. Dozens of verses come to mind. Proverbs 4:23 says that I am to guard my heart for out of it flows the issues of life. Verse 4 in the same chapter says, “Let your heart retain my words; keep my commands, and live” (Proverbs 4:4).

Today’s verses are from Psalm 119. “With my whole heart I have sought You; oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:10-11).

Most people say this is about memorizing Bible verses and for years I’ve been told that this is extremely important. I don’t doubt it, but I struggle with rote memorization. Even with much repetition, nothing sticks. However, if I am reading Scripture and God speaks to me with verses that apply to a specific situation, then I can remember them. Perhaps that is because I have read and learned something that I really need, but whatever the reason, if I need that same verse later, it comes to mind easily.

There is another reason for knowing God’s Word. My devotional reading talks of a man who came to Christ, but worried about the garbage in his mind and how to clean it out. As I read it, I thought of Romans 12:2. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

The reading says that the only way to have a transformed mind is to read, study, and meditate on the Word of God. It then quotes Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Reading, studying, meditating and memorizing is our part, but there is another important aspect of hiding His Word in our hearts. The Bible is the written Word of God, and Jesus Christ is the living Word of God. When Scripture asks the question, “Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” it answers with, “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

When Christ moved into my life, He gave me His life and His mind! Thinking the thoughts of Jesus are possible only because my mind is transformed. Oh, I still have the old one, but now have the choice of my own ideas or His. It says I must hide His Word in my heart and I think, Oh, because Jesus lives there, I already have!

This is no excuse to not read the Bible. If I neglect it, then my old ways of thinking and the lies of the devil can move in and run things, but with the mind of Christ, thinking God’s thoughts is a wonder and a gift of grace. Because of Him, I can meditate on whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. As Philippians 4:8 says, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, His presence in my heart means that I am able to think on these things.