Gird up your mind

by Joyce Meyer - posted September 23, 2015
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober,
and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to
be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
- 1 Peter 1:13 NKJV
You and I aren't accustomed to hearing the
phrase "gird up" today. But in biblical times both
men and women wore long, skirt-like outfits. If
they tried to run in those clothes, there was a
good chance they could get tangled up in the
long fabrics and stumble. When they needed to
move quickly, they gathered the material of their
garments and pulled it up so they could walk or
run freely. They would "gird up" their clothing.
When the Bible tells us to "gird up the loins" of
our minds, I believe it means to get our minds
off of everything that would cause us to stumble
as we run the race God has set before us. I
think it may also refer to concentrating on the
thing at hand rather than allowing our thoughts
to wander all over the place. God has a good
plan for each of us, but we must walk the path
that leads us to it.
Focus and concentration are both real
challenges in our world today. We have a great
deal of information coming at us all the time,
and to keep our minds on what our purpose is
requires great determination, and even training.
You might get up on Monday and fully intend to
start your day by spending time with God in
prayer and Bible study. Then you intend to get
three specific projects finished that day. You
need to go to the grocery store, get some
maintenance done on your car, and finish
cleaning out a closet that you started working on
last week. Your intention is good, but if you don't
focus on those projects, you will surely be pulled
away by other things or people. Girding up your
mind is another way of saying "stay focused on
what you need to do."
Trust in Him Have you developed an ability to
concentrate and focus on what you need to do?
In order to stay on God's track for your life, you
must keep focused and trust Him to be your
guide.