Who Has the Heart?

One of the things I often take stock of is where my thoughts wander. I think this goes a great deal towards telling me if my walk with Christ is one of intimacy, joy, and fellowship. I am humbled by the description of the righteous man in Psalms who delights "in the law of the Lord" and meditates on it "day and night" (Psalm 1:2). Elsewhere, the Psalmist quite joyfully proclaims, "Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day" (119:97).

All day and all night? That seems like overkill, doesn't it? I struggle to meditate on God's word beyond my morning devotions. 

And that is just the thing. Where do your thoughts to turn when you're driving in your car or daydreaming about your ultimate joy?

This is why I've appreciated the very sobering questions that Ellen White asks in Steps to Christ. They seem very tangible to me and serve as a great barometer of my heart's affections. She wonders:

Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things (p. 58).

For many of us, our sweetest thoughts are directed towards the basketball game we just watched or the next episode of The Batchelor. I know that I am a very temperemental person who gets easily side-tracked. I very often get really excited about my devotional experience, yet it seems like it takes hardly ten minutes of e-mailing or catching up on the news of the day before my affections are diverted elsewhere. This is why I need to keep Christ and Him crucified constantly before me. This is, no doubt, why the Psalmist chose to meditate on the law day and night.

Perhaps I should follow suit.