Girding The Mind

“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; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.‘ ” And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. I Peter 1:13-17

Peter ,earlier in Chapter 1, described the wonders and joy of our salvation provided for by the sacrifices of Jesus and now guarded by God’s power. In light of this, Peter commands us to “gird up the loins of our mind” and “be sober” as obedient children, laying aside our former lusts. We are to consistently pursue holiness through walking in faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Obedience is a conscious act of the will. We have the power to refrain from sin but we must choose to do so.

In the first century, people who wanted to walk or run quickly faced a problem. Before they could quicken their pace, they had to gather up their loose flowing robes with a belt so they would not trip. That is likely what Peter had in mind here as he exhorts Christians to keep their thoughts under control, that is, maintain a tight, disciplined mind set on the Word of God and not running off undisciplined into various worldly thoughts and lusts. Spurgeon has said “let the truth of God go right round you, so that no part of you is left out of the hallowed circle; be completely contained within the girdle of pure and precious truth…. Some are all ungirt, and have their garments hanging loosely about them, so that they are unable to do anything effectively, because they are continually perplexed with a thousand wandering thoughts.”

Girding our minds will lead to a sober approach to our spiritual life. The word for sober means to be free from every form of mental and spiritual “drunkenness” or excess. Rather than being controlled by outside circumstances, Believers should be directed from within ourselves. Holy living demands determination. We will stumble and fall but we are to get back up and press on to the high calling of God on our lives (Philippians 3:14), always trusting to God’s grace.

As we realize the extent of God’s knowledge and the accuracy of His judgment, we should live with a wholesome fear of displeasing Him. All areas of our life should be in the process of becoming completely conformed to God’s perfect and holy will.