Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
— 1 Peter 1:13

Today I want to draw your attention to the phrase “gird up the loins of your mind” that is used in the verse above. This isn’t just an interesting phrase that Peter concocted when he wrote this verse. It is an extremely powerful and graphic picture that expresses something very important that you and I need to understand and apply in our lives!

This phrase “gird up the loins” comes from the Greek word anadzonnumi. This word was used to describe Orientals who wore long robes. Before taking a long journey or before running in a race, they would gather up their loose robes and tuck them up under their girdle.

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Most frequently this word would be used to depict a runner who was running a race. To run freely and without hindrance, he would reach down to gather the long, dangling ends of his garments and then tuck them up under his belt. With the loose ends out of the way, he could then run freely and without distraction.

But the runner would get in trouble if he ever allowed his garments to fall down and become entangled in his legs. Even though he may have been picking up his stride and running a good race up to that point, the encumbrance of dangling, loosely hanging clothes would hinder his steps. And allowing those loose ends to keep dangling would have been a sure way to lose the race!

But notice that Peter is not talking about a garment made of material; he is referring to the loins of our minds. You see, Peter is telling us that if we don’t:

•  deal with the loose ends that exist in our minds and emotions;
•  correct those parts of our thinking that we know are wrong;
•  grab hold of all those dangling areas in our thinking and put them out of the way;
•  and remove them by the authority of the Word of God —
•  then we are choosing to permit things to exist in our lives that will hinder our steps and slow us down in our race and in our ability to successfully walk with God!

If we want to be successful in our spiritual lives and truly walk with God, then we must start by dealing with the “loins of our minds.” In other words, we must seek to deal with all the loose ends in our thinking that haven’t yet been submitted to the Word of God or surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s power.

If we deliberately allow wrong thinking and wrong believing to continue in our lives, we are making the same kind of mistake the runner does who deliberately allows his garment to hang down and get caught in his legs. This is why Peter admonishes us to tighten up those areas that the devil would try to grab hold of and use against us!

Are there any loose ends that you need to deal with in your life right now? If there are, I am certain you already know what those areas are! The Holy Spirit has been trying to deal with you about those areas for a long time, but have you been listening? If you continue to ignore His voice, you will pay the price of failure — of never realizing your maximum potential.

You see, God is only trying to help you when He speaks to you about the loose ends in your life. If you’re smart, you’ll stop everything you are doing to grab hold of those dangling ends and get them out of your way once and for all. Then you’ll be able to run the race set before you with no distractions!

So what are you going to do about the loose ends in your life today? If you’ll open your heart to the Holy Spirit’s help, He will assist you in identifying every area that needs your attention; then He will help you grab hold of those loose ends and move them out of your way forever!

My Prayer for Today

Lord, I ask You to help me tie up the loose ends that I’ve allowed to remain in my mind and emotions. Today I am making the deliberate choice to start submitting every area of my mind and emotions to the Word of God and to the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Please let the power of Your Word and Spirit flow into every area of my mind and emotions, energizing them with Your Presence so that the devil can no longer access me through these areas of my life!

I pray this in Jesus’ name!

My Confession for Today

I confess that my mind and emotions are submitted to and renewed by God’s Word. The devil has no access to my mind because my thought life is dominated by God’s Word and by the power of the Spirit. I think God’s thoughts, and I have the mind of Jesus Christ. Therefore, no entrance is available in my mind or emotions through which the devil can access me! I believe the truth; I think the truth; and I confess the truth about who Jesus Christ has made me to be!

I declare this by faith in Jesus’ name!

Questions to Answer

1. If you take an honest look at the spiritual attacks that have assaulted your life, how many of them have been a result of your failure to renew your mind or take authority over the devil’s strategies in your life? If the Word of God had dominated your mind and if you had been walking in the Spirit, how might the situation have turned out differently?

2. What are you doing right now to make sure the devil can’t find access to your mind and emotions again? What practical steps are you taking to make sure that you won’t fall into that same trap the next time?

3. If you encounter someone who is constantly being assaulted by the enemy, what preventative steps should you advise that person to take to ensure that the next demonic attack that comes against him is ineffective?