Heart Fixer and Mind Regulator:Philippians 4:1-9

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26, NASB).

Minister William Johnson was hosting our Prayer Call Ministry. After calling the names of those persons on the prayer list, Minister Johnson began to read the appropriate scriptures on the topic of reconciliation. As he prayed, he asked God to give us more love; to remove envy and jealousy and to replace them with love so that all of us could have peace. As William prayed, he asked the Lord to touch our hearts and our minds so that we could love one another. He used the term “mind regulator.” I was immediately touched by the use of this term for two reasons. First, I had been thinking about the prayers of the deacons in our church when I was growing up. In their prayers they often asked God to fix their hearts and regulate their minds. This was consistent with the words of the preachers and the testimonies of the saints: “He’s a heart fixer and a mind regulator.” Is this true that God can fix our hearts and regulate our minds? Can we find support for this idea in the scriptures? This article will briefly examine if this statement is just the repeated words of folks in the church or in fact something that can be found in the scriptures?

Before I get into the scriptures, let me tell why this proverb was on my mind. Our country has been under a lot of stress and anxiety; especially the past two years. We have been plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic that has taken the lives of 934 thousand people in our country. The pandemic has led to the call for every person to be vaccinated. We have been required to maintain a six feet social distance between people to help prevent the spread of the virus. Public places like schools and businesses have closed to slow the spread of the virus. Governments have issued “mask mandates” also.

A significant number of people have failed to get vaccinated, refused to wear a mask, and they have ignored the call for social distancing. There has been a demand for schools to open because people are concerned that their children are not getting the education that they need. Parents have stopped working so that they can stay at home with their children. This has caused financial difficulties for their families. In addition, there has been an increase in suicides, violent crimes, use of alcohol and drugs that are fatal. Anxiety and uncertainty is at an all time high. We really live in unprecedented and uncertain times. The question for this article is this. What if anything can be done to help people with their anxieties and worries? Can God help us? If we concentrate on the word of God, will this do anything to relieve us of our anxieties? Can the words found in the scriptures help us by changing our perspectives of the things that are taking place in our lives? Can we find assurance and comfort in the scriptures? Is Jesus a heart fixer and a mind regulator? Let us look into the scriptures for denial or affirmation of this proverb.

The Old Testament and New Testament contain numerous statements about the hearts and minds of people as well as the heart and mind of the God that we worship and serve. In the Old Testament scriptures; especially in the books of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel the Lord speaks to the issues of the hearts and minds. In these books of prophecy God is not pleased with His people Israel because of their hearts and minds. God sends His prophets to warn the people that there will be consequences for their ways of living and worship because of their hard hearts that have turned away from God and turned to idols. Since they have rejected the Lord there is no justice in the land. Violence has become commonplace in the land.

So, God sends them into exile by the hands of the Assyrians and the Babylonians and they are scattered throughout the nations. However, God is faithful to His promises. He will keep the covenant that He has made with His people even though they have been unfaithful. God will bring them back to their homeland. They will not return with the same rebellious hearts and minds that they had when they were sent into exile. God would change their hearts. He would put a new spirit in them. Before God rescued them from their exile He would fix their hearts and regulate their minds. He would remove the hearts of stones and replace them with hearts of flesh. Their attitudes would be different leading them to behaviors of worship and justice that were righteous in the eyes of God. He would regulate their minds by giving them a new spirit.

In the New Testament Jesus speaks about the heart. He says, “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil” (Matt. 12:34-35, NASB). Again, we are left with the question: Is God a heart fixer and a mind regulator? We will see that Jesus believed that this is true.

In the gospel of John, chapters 13-16 Jesus is preparing His disciples for the work that He called them to do. In chapter thirteen Jesus is celebrating the Passover with the disciples. Jesus knows that there is envy and jealousy among the members. He washes their feet and gives them a new commandment. They are to love one another in the same way that He has loved them. They are to have a heart to take care of each other. Jesus is soon to be crucified, buried, resurrected from the dead, and return to the Father. He will not leave them to fend for themselves in His absence. They will do the works that they have seen Jesus do. He says, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (comforter, advocate), that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides in you” (Jn. 14:16-17, NASB). Those that know Jesus and have the Spirit of truth abiding in them have a different perspective of things because they have Jesus’ words abiding in them.

Jesus knows that His disciples will be met by hatred and persecution in the world. They should expect this. “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you” (Jn. 15:18, NASB). “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (v. 19). As Jesus continues to prepare the disciples for His return to the Father and their assignment to preach the gospel He promises that the Spirit of truth will give them the right perspective of things. “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (16:13, NASB). In spite of all the persecution and suffering that they will endure, they will not be disheartened. They will not be overcome with fear and anxiety. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (Jn. 14:27, NASB).

We have seen that God changes the heart of those that belong to Him; those that have faith in Him and trust Him. We have seen that those who abide in the words of Jesus see things differently than those that conform to the wisdom of the world. In his letter to the Philippians Paul tells them to have the mind of Jesus. They are to love one another, putting others above themselves. If they have the attitude of Jesus they can be sure that the Lord will exalt them just as he has exalted Jesus who gave His life for us (Phil. 2:1-11). They can know that God will take care of them. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (4:6-7, NASB). Instead of worrying they should think about that which is good (v. 8).

Yes, God is a heart fixer and a mind regulator. However, this is not applicable to all people. God is a heart fixer and a mind regulator to those that believe in Jesus and abide in His words. They keep His commandments as they are led, guided, and given strength by the Spirit of truth. When we would do wrong, we do what is right. When according to the world’s understanding we have reason enough to worry, He gives us peace of mind. For those that love the Lord and share in His love for others He is a heart fixer and a mind regulator.