“Gird Up” Your Mind by Joyce Meyer – posted September 23, 2015

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.