Proverbs 4:23 says that the "issues of life" flow out of our hearts. The most important activities of our lives take place in the heart or spirit, and these must be protected or else we will live defeated lives.

How do we protect these "issues of life"? How can we reverse the curse that is so wrapped up in our emotions? How can we overcome fear, rejection, inferiority, and depression?

With out minds.

You see, our mind contains the wall and gates that will guard our heart. We must use the power of decision - the ability to choose whom and what we let in - to guard our heart. All of this is within our control if we learn to rule our own spirit!

The Mind is the Battleground
Satan cannot directly attack your heart. He has to work from the outside in. Where does he begin? Obviously, with the mind and thoughts. He attacks from outside the walls, battling you with thoughts so you'll open the gate.

Once he gets past the gate of your decision-making ability, your emotions are directly affected. What you feel (your emotions) is a direct result of the thoughts that you have accepted into your mind.

To prove the point, let's talk about anger. Have you ever become angry for no reason, without a thought first? Seriously, do you know anyone sitting on a comfortable sofa on a beautiful day in a wonderful mood who suddenly became violently angry with no provocation? (Except the seriously mentally ill.)

Of course not! The emotion of anger is produced by a thought or perception of wrongdoing. We all have heard someone say, "The more I thought about it, the madder I got!" You let your thoughts get out of control, and so did your emotions (anger). Your emotions always follow your thoughts. You lost the rule over your spirit, and in doing so developed some holes in your walls!

Diligence
What happened to this city to cause the walls to be broken down and the city ruined? First, the inhabitants of the city were not diligent. When the wall began to fall into disrepair, they did not check for holes or weaknesses that could have developed.

Second, there were many battles going on, with direct attacks upon the city. As the enemy began to penetrate the city and assault the gates, much damage was done. Damage must be repaired, or it will accumulate.

Your spirit, your inner man, is like the inside of that city. The wall that is protecting that city is the soulish realm - your mind, your will, and your emotions. Any damage done to your mind and emotions must be repaired immediately so your walls will remain strong to protect you. You must protect your heart. It is very important, and it requires much diligence on your part.

You cannot throw yourself wide open for everything that comes along. I know people who are emotional basket cases. They have no control whatsoever over their emotions. Then there are people who don't seem to have any emotions, or at least they don't show any.

Neither of these states is healthy. There is a balance we must strive for. The walls become broken down, just as your emotions can become broken down, because of the attacks on your mind. That is where the devil attacks you first - in
your mind. Your mind is the battleground of satanic attack. That is why you must diligently guard what goes into it.

Declare Aloud: I have a mind. It is the battleground where I win! I do not accept defeat. My mind belongs to me, not the devil. Therefore, I can win!

Everyday you are dealing with your mind and Satan's attacks upon it. How many times has the devil ever told you that you were a failure? Has that thought ever come to your mind? He tells you:

• You are a failure.
• You are stupid.
• You never do anything right.
• You are ugly.

These suggestions are an attack upon your mind to destroy your inner man. If Satan can ruin your self-image and give you a "failure complex," he can wreck the rest of your life! You must be diligent to guard against these attacks on your self-esteem.

Learn to stop Satan's lies from entering your gates and becoming thought patterns in your life. It will take some time to learn this. But as you practice, you will enjoy great results. One person may have a tendency to procrastinate, while another has a tendency to feel sorry for himself and wallow in self-pity. Define your specific battleground, and then be alert to the thought patterns that develop in your mind.

The second step is to exercise your decision-making abilities. You have the right and the ability to reject any thought that comes to your mind.

What happens when the enemy attacks your mind? The thought enters into your mind and goes through a decision-making process. That is why you have a mind, because it makes decisions about who goes into the city. When you hear that thought, "You are a failure," your mind has a decision-making process to complete: Do I receive this thought? Do I believe this thought?

Your mind will then search like a computer to see if any information concerning this thought has been filed away. If it has, and you have been accustomed to accepting thoughts like, "You are a failure," then you are going to have to make a conscious decision to reject that thought.

Because you have accepted it in the past, that thought is more likely to always be accepted. You will have to "deprogram" it. It can be removed over a period of time by continually rejecting the thought and counteracting it with the Word of God.

Declare Out Loud: I am a success because I meditate and act upon God's Word. (See Joshua 1:8 and Psalm 1:2-3.)

Continually rejecting the words of the enemy and accepting and declaring the Word of God will reprogram the computer of your mind. It will also exercise your decision-making ability and train it to accept the good and reject the evil.

Remember, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law; we need to realize that part of that curse includes emotional and mental sickness. Refuse to remain bound by emotional and mental sickness. The battle takes place in the mind, so be sure you are prepared to defend it!

Source: Reverse the Curse by Annette Capps
Excerpt permission granted by Annette Capps Ministries