I have felt that God has laid the passages in 1 Peter in my heart the past few days. I have found significant encouragement from the words contained in it. Today's study just happened to be focused on verses from 1 Peter...how 'bout that?!
1 Peter 1:13) Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end from the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
In Biblical times the men wore long robes. If they were taking part in manual labor or running they would tuck the robe in their belt as to not trip. On a side note, I hope they wore something under their robes! So girding up your loins means to roll up your sleeves or pull it together and get serious about work. Girding up the loins of your mind means to get serious about where your mind is going. To be sober means to be calm, steady, and controlled. The revelation of Jesus Christ is a reference to His Second Coming.
In the commentary I use to study I found a great quote by the author, Warren Wiersbe. He says, "outlook determines outcome; attitude determines action." I like that and it's something I need to hear often. Just ask Dave, I can be the queen of a rotten attitude! He gets after me when the Lord tells him to! Do I have heavenly eyes on or earthly eyes? Heavenly eyes see beyond the present. They see beyond our current pain. The hope of eternal is not something that has brought much comfort to me in the past. I'm being honest with you and I have told God this same thing. I have wanted help in this area. Yeah, I get it, "these hard times won't last forever and heaven will be great." "What about now though? What about this pain I feel now? What about this health condition that seems to stick around? God! What about now?!"
1 Peter 1:13 is reminding us where the focus should be. Satan loves a scattered and wondering mind. I must keep my focus on what is important. The last 6-1/2 years have been tremendously difficult. God has blessed me with a new perspective. Different things are important to me now and honestly, I am an entirely different person. I am certain I was rather shallow prior to this "blessing" I have had for all these years! By allowing Him and our hard circumstances to change us in a positive way we are living with an eternal outlook. Remember the questions I posed in the previous paragraph? In essence, He is answering me by changing me. The challenge is to not spend so much time asking why and more time allowing the divinely-inspired change to occur.
Focusing on the present is the natural thing to do. Most of the time I am so caught up in my preset circumstance I can't even function. At times it has been all-consuming. Satan loves for me to be totally overwhelmed. When I am overwhelmed I miss out on God's wonderful lessons. When I do this my present circumstances are distracting me. I have lost my perspective. God is preparing me for heaven through His quiet lessons. I often pray for God's help to look past the problem because when I focus on the problem it becomes big and God small. During these times it is important to pull your mind together (gird up) and focus on greater things.
Expecting God's grace is for now and future. He always is willing to show us grace. Granted His grace can be different than what I think it should be, but nonetheless, His grace happens. The grace that occurs in this life is just in a different capacity. Here is a reminder of what grace is. It is a gift or reward we do not deserve. Something positive always happens out of trials for a child of God. So not only can a believer expect eternal reward, but also present rewards that come out of our faithfulness and His kindness. When my mind is sober I am able to see His gifts and reward in the midst of trials.
So in closing, I challenge you to keep your mind reined in especially if there is deep water all around you. Stay sober and vigilant to look for His gifts and rewards in the midst of your pain. By doing this you are gaining a new perspective and becoming heaven-minded. You are seeing there is more than what your earthy eyes can take in. The more we practice this the more we can share our eternal hope with others and the more we defeat Satan's schemes. So what about the pain I am experiencing now? It's still there and it's still painful, BUT I am using it for good. It is all about perspective, outlook, and attitude...and keeping that mind focused on things of heaven.
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