By Allen Domelle, Old Paths Journal
1 Peter 1:13
“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;”
When playing sports, one of the things you have to be careful about is that the opponent doesn’t get into your mind. Several years ago, I had the opportunity to watch the Duke Blue Devils play at Cameron Indoor Stadium. I have always admired their coach and his “old school” coaching style, and the opportunity to watch them play was one of those opportunities I didn’t want to pass up. One of the things that caught my attention that night was how the team and coaches entered the court. The team came into the stadium in a single line in what could have been an intimidating manner. After the team entered, the assistant coaches all entered the arena in a single file line, all wearing suits. Finally, after a couple of minutes, the legendary coach walked in to the crowd’s cheer. The entrance of the team alone was to get into the opponent’s head.
The reason that God told the believer to “gird up the loins of your mind” is because God doesn’t want your opponent, Satan, to get into your head. If you can win the spiritual battle in your head, you will win the battle in your Christian walk. The verse above teaches several lessons that can help you to protect your mind in the spiritual walk.
Advertisements - Click the Speaker Icon for Audio
First, be aware that your mind is under attack. To live as though your mind is not under attack is to live in ignorance. Satan is daily bombarding your mind so that he can get you to fall. It is much easier to win the battle against sin and temptation if you’ll realize that they are after your mind.
Second, be willing to surround your mind with guards to protect it. You can’t “gird up the loins of your mind” without setting up guards to protect it. Your mind is the processing unit for your actions; therefore, you must place guards around your mind that keep you from wrong influences if you want to keep from doing the wrong things.
Third, be sober about today’s realities. Verse 14 says, “…not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:” The reality is, the world places temptations everywhere to break down the purity of your mind. If the world can find one weakness in your mind’s wall, it will continue to pound that weak area of your mind until it gets through and influences you to do wrong. The reason you must have standards to live by is so that you can protect your mind from today’s lusts that have waged a war against your spirituality.
Fourth, keep tomorrow in mind about what you let to influence your mind today. The verse above talks about hoping “to the end.” In other words, one of the greatest protections you can establish for your mind is to remember that every action has a consequence tomorrow. Today’s influences always come out in tomorrow’s actions; therefore, protect your influences so you don’t do wrong tomorrow.
Fifth, be holy in your daily walk. Nothing protects your mind more than living a holy life that is separated from the world. The reason you need Christ-honoring standards is because they will keep your mind from being influenced by the wrong thing. The greatest battle you will fight in the Christian life is the battle within your mind. Protect your mind from anything that may cause you to yield to sinful lusts, and you will be able to live a victorious Christian life.
For more information, visit the Old Paths Journal Website.
