Your heart is so critical to your redemption that it is the first thing the enemy attacks! He attacks it when it’s very young, vulnerable, and imaginative, able to believe in the unbelievable.
“For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved.” – Romans 10:10
If The Evil One is successful in his assaults against our hearts, his work will cancel our justification and shut our mouth’s declaration of salvation.
This warfare is so profound that it’s the last thing mentioned in the Old Testament and the first thing in the New Testament! If our hearts are not restored, our land and lives will be cursed. And this is the plight of so many lives—lives, whereby the heart has been so treacherously wounded that everything is cursed.
But, there is hope! Please read on.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” – Malachi 4: 5-6
Who was the great prophet spoken of by Malachi?
It was John the Baptist. His preaching, as it says, prepared people for the Messiah. – Luke 1:17…
“… And he will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to make ready for the Lord a prepared people.”
Our hearts do indeed matter, and unfortunately, it is the battleground that the Enemy first strikes.
I can think of no greater scene than from the movie Spider-Man (2002), which powerfully demonstrates the evil one’s scheme…
Green Goblin:
Spider-Man is all but invincible; but Parker, we can destroy him.
Norman Osborn:
I can’t.
Green Goblin:
Betrayal must not be countenanced! Parker must be educated.
Norman Osborn:
What do I do?
Green Goblin:
Instruct him in the matters of loss and pain. Make him suffer, make him wish he were dead.
Norman Osborn:
Yes?
Green Goblin:
And then grant his wish.
Norman Osborn:
But how?
Green Goblin:
The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind.
Norman Osborn:
TELL ME HOW!
Green Goblin:
The HEART, Osborn. First, we attack his heart.
If you’re going to live from and believe with your heart, and I highly recommend that you do, you must armor up and ready yourself for the onslaught of your life. Why? Because the Enemy fears and hates nothing more than a man or woman living from their heart. The heart is where the God of the Angel Army dwells!
This is why before most of us had reached the age of eleven or twelve, that we encountered “heart attacks,” that is, a vicious assault on our heart— the very center of our being.
“The cunning warrior attacks neither body nor mind—first, he attacks the heart.”
If you, like me, have suffered attacks of the heart, while young and impressionable, there is hope and healing. As a matter of fact, there is nothing so vital as the healing of your heart. Your heart is so vital that Jesus of Nazareth read the following from the ancient scrolls at the very beginning of his earthly mission:
“The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is with me because the Lord has anointed me to deliver good news to humble people. He has sent me to heal those who are brokenhearted, to announce that captives will be set free and prisoners will be released.” – Isaiah 61:1
Your heart matters to God—you matter to God. The cunning warrior shall not win this battle against your heart. The battle belongs to the Lord. He’s defeated the enemy on the cross. All you must do is believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, and you shall be saved and healed. Don’t be afraid, be saved! Amen
Call To Courage 