Circumcision of the Heart

Malcolm asked, “What is circumcision of the heart?”

Stephanie replied, “I would say cutting off the pieces that carried all the things of sin and all the feelings.”

Malcolm said, “Well, you would think that, but what about restoration of the heart?”

He elaborated, “Cutting off is a very permanent thing. It is people cutting off their hearts without realizing that's what they're doing. They do it against others in relationships, against themselves with self-worth, and against the Trinity. Just as the magnificence of God chooses to restore—”

At that moment, Stephanie had an image of a liver that, even though a portion had been cut off, it began to grow back.

…but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (Romans 2:29)

Malcolm pointed out that just as the natural organ can restore, so can the heart regarding spiritual matters.

Stephanie asked, “Aren't we supposed to circumcise things from our heart?”

Malcolm said, “Don't negate the process.”

He then showed her how we circumcise our own hearts. If we allow the Lord himself to circumcise pieces of our heart, then the heart is healed. He showed her a picture of a heart and the Lord taking a piece off, like a piece off the side that was dead—dead against things. As soon as He cut it, it grew back new, like baby skin, brand new.

Stephanie remarked, “In our minds, we think of when we cut something away, it's permanent.”

Malcolm replied, “Well, there is a permanence in this, but it brings new life.”

She remarked that, on the surface, this seemed a bit elementary for the people that we're with.

He said, “Not if they're the ones cutting their own heart. Unbelief causes a circumcision in the heart, as well as anger or unforgiveness. It is its own cutting. When you use your words against someone and to them it feels like a cutting, what you don't realize is you have circumcised your own heart in an area. These areas need healing. This is a transaction.

“Remember that when you accuse someone, you are trading downward concerning that person. You are categorizing them.”

Malcolm asked, “Are you willing to yield your heart? That's the question for people. Haven't you and Ron been telling the people ‘Start with yourself’—generational iniquity cleansing, utilize the Courts of Heaven, and so on. Those are all parts of the pieces that are at play here. Are the people willing to yield their own heart to the Lord, allowing Him to cut away the dead places and make new deep reservoirs?

Stephanie then saw another image; it was very simplistic in nature, but it was the first time she had seen it this way where—when you are cutting at someone with your words, using accusations or anger or anything of the sort and not walking in love, a supernatural kind of love—it might make you feel good for a moment that you have hurt that person because they hurt you, but you have wounded yourself. You have cut your own heart. It's a form of circumcision that is not of the Lord.

Malcolm asked, “How would the people feel if they knew they were inflicting harm upon themselves? Would there be different actions? Have you heard the term ‘You are your own worst enemy’?”

Of course, we all have.

For you to know who you are in your heart is the secret of your spiritual identity. This is your true circumcision. It is not the literal outward appearance that distinguishes you. After all, it is God's approval and not another's opinion that matters. Most people see skin deep. (Romans 2:29) (MIRROR)

God knows the heart, and because He knows the heart, there are places that He can circumcise that are for our best interest. He can cut away those places where we've injured and harmed ourselves.

Malcolm then handed Stephanie a knife and said, “Paint a picture for the people that when they cut away at another, they're using this very instrument upon their own heart.”

If we don’t allow the Lord to cut away the dead places, our heart eventually becomes hardened. Let’s allow Him to do the necessary work on our hearts.