First In My Heart
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26
One of my all-time favorite camp hymns is “Be Thou My Vision.” Whenever I hear it, I can immediately feel the presence of 500 Greystone girls enjoying Sunday morning church in the cool and crisp air of the North Carolina mountains. While this hymn reminds me of camp and all of its beauty, it more importantly reminds me of the importance of asking God into my heart each and every day and recognizing him as ruler over everything.
Over the last couple of months, I have listened to this song on constant repeat. More specifically, I have listened to the rendition by Shane and Shane “Be Thou My Vision (Lord You Are)”. Whether I am listening to this song while I am in the shower, on a run, or riding in the car, I am reminded through this song that the Lord alone gives me peace and comfort. There is always one verse in particular that I can’t help but sing out loud each time I hear it. It is the verse that sings:
“Thou and thou only first in my heart. High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art. Lord, you are more precious than silver. Lord, you are more costly than gold. Lord, you are more beautiful than diamonds. And nothing I desire compares to you.”
These lyrics in particular remind me that while circumstances in our world and individual lives might change, the Lord does not. While we cannot cling to things in this world that are out of our control (such as our summer plans), we can still cling to the fact our Lord is the High King of Heaven and is watching over us.
These two verses from Psalm bring the same comfort as they emphasize that our Lord is the most precious treasure compared to anything we might desire on earth. It is hard for us to even fathom that our Lord is more costly than gold and more beautiful than diamonds but because he is these things, we should desire him more than anything else on this earth whether that be the new clothes we really want to buy or the beach trip we want to take.
Accepting the Lord as first in our hearts will bring us a sense of peace that cannot be brought by anything else. During times such as these, it is important to remember these words in Psalm that tells us “God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
While other circumstances and things in our lives may change, our Lord will not. Instead, he will remain our biggest source of strength and largest prize that we could imagine. Therefore, we should strive to let the Lord rule over our hearts and value him as our largest treasure. Most importantly, we should find comfort knowing “Thou and thou only, first in my heart, High King of Heaven, my treasure thou art.”