Gird Up (1 Peter 1:13)

We tie up the turkey so that its appearance on the plate is more desirable.  I tie up my tomato plants so that they have support in growing and I tie up the dog when I put him out to do his business so the that little bandit won't run away. Why do we tie things up?  We tie things up for their benefit or safety.

Spiritually speaking, we should do the same. The Scriptures admonished us to gird up our minds.

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)

The reason we are told to do so is because it is at that point that we get and maintain the victory. If you control how you think, you will control your actions. The apostle Paul stated it another way.

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2 Corinthians 10:5)

Both passages involved reeling in the thoughts of your mind. Those which don't belong we need to recognize and cast down and those which are right should remain and we should continually think on them. (Phil. 4:8)

With our mind girded, we should be on guard and watch. Sober and watch are used interchangeably and it is this task that guards our hearts and minds. Jesus admonished his disciples with the same message: keep my commandments.

Spiritually speaking, God wants us to closely watch and guard the commandments in our hearts.  Keep sake, keep hold, the keep (the strongest part of a castle), she's a keeper are all terms describing the act of watching or guarding a possession.  Since the term keep means to watch or guard, then God wants us to guard our hearts and minds and keeping the commandments is to keep the thoughts that should remain in it.

If you wait to govern yourself at the action level, you experience much failure and frustration.  What you should do is gird up the loins of our minds with the commandments of God.  Remember, how you think determines how you act.