Gird Up the Loins of Your Mind!

Be Strong, Be Well — Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Peter wrote, “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).

Since Peter was writing in the first century, he used a metaphor that isn’t common in our day and time. “Gird up the loins of your mind.”

In New Testament times they wore a tunic. This was a loose fitting outer garment slipped over the head which hung around the body from the shoulders to the knees. When certain activities were involved (working, running, soldiering), the loose excess material of the tunic would need to be tied up and held close to the body, so as not to hinder one’s movements.

Peter addressed his audience as sojourners and pilgrims (1:1; 2:11). He commanded them to gather up any improper or distracting thoughts and restrain them so they would not be hindered in their journey toward heaven.

Weighty matters and distractions are all around us. We must not allow them to hinder or slow us down. Jesus said, “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35). We must be mentally and spiritually self-controlled, ready at any given moment to press on in our journey to heaven.

“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). —Chris