I was cutting into one of those fine Ira Gore watermelons the other day when I realized that Satan also likes watermelon. To cut the melon into quarters, I always begin at the heart. This particular melon was a seeded melon; I think the heart is usually the sweetest part and has fewer seeds. As I cut into that fine melon flesh, it occurred to me that this is exactly what Satan does with us--he aims for our hearts.
In Genesis 3, we read of Satan's appeal to Eve. He did not come with showmanship and big bands and direct appeals for her to rebel against God. He went right for the heart. He said, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'"? (Genesis 3:1) He did not bring the fruit to her or force her to partake of it. He sought for Eve's heart first to move her in the direction of rebellion. "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate." (Genesis 3:6)
The heart is the battleground of righteousness and unrighteousness. Jesus said of the Pharisees, "Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." (Matthew 12:34) The apostle Paul declared, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) This is where battles are won and lost. Satan always seeks to bring our hearts under his submission.
In the parable of the sower (Matthew 13), the Lord compared the different types of hearts to soil (ground) types--wayside, rocky, thorny, and good ground. The way a person receives the seed (God's word--Luke 8:11) depends on his heart type. Satan takes the seed away from hardened hearts; kills it in weak hearts; and causes the "cares, riches, and pleasures of life" (Luke 8:14) to make good hearts unfruitful. The only heart over which Satan has no control is the heart broken of its hardness--the heart that has removed the rocks of worldliness and refuses to allow the weeds of life to choke the good ground's productivity.
God has always wanted our hearts. In Noah's day, He destroyed the world because the "thought of [man's] heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5) In Psalm 19:14, David penned, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer." Later, the Holy Spirit would say that David was a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22). To win the battle of the heart, we must "Love the Lord your God will all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) Satan cannot control such hearts.
To protect against the unyielding oppression of Satan's influence, we must allow the "peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, [to] guard [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7) That is the only way to keep Satan from cutting out the heart. Refuse to open up to him and refuse to allow him to influence your life. "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:7) When we submit our hearts to God's will, the devil cannot stand. He cannot touch our hearts. Resist him!