Get Girt

The epistle 1 Peter is a letter that moves back and forth between the idea of hope, and the idea of holiness. Hope is the theme of the first twelve verses. In those verses, Peter reminds us how amazing “amazing grace” really is.
By God’s grace, sinners are saved by faith through great mercy (1 Peter 1:3; Eph. 2:4) to a new birth (1 Peter 1:3; Eph. 2:5) with a living hope (1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:17). Followers of Christ are blessed with an undefiled inheritance (1 Peter 1:4; Rom 8:17) that is eternally secure (1 Peter 1;4; John 10:28-29) and well guarded (1 Peter 1:5; John 10:27–29).
Trials are sometimes deemed necessary by our sovereign God, but they are temporary (1 Peter1:6; 2 Colossians 4:17-18). Meanwhile, as we attend to our love for Christ and our faith, we find ourselves experiencing inexpressible (even unspeakable) joy (1 Peter 1:8-9). And if that isn’t enough, when we consider how much clarity and understanding of the Gospel we have today (as compared to the prophets of old and even the angels), we don’t always realize how good we have it (1 Peter 1:10-12).
Hope. So much hope. And so much grace.
Verse 13 of 1 Peter is a transition point. Peter begins to pivot, in verse 13, from an emphasis on hope, to an emphasis on holiness. And the center of the pivot point is the phrase, “prepare your mind for action.”
What action? The action of experiencing, and living out, holiness.
And this action will take just about all of the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and even physical energy and focus that we can engage in our lives.
In other words, the Big Idea of holiness, is a big deal.
So in verse 13 of 1 Peter, we are challenged to prepare our minds for action. In the King James version, you (and I) are commanded to “gird up thy loins.” Not an expression we use today in everyday conversation, but a poignant and compelling phrase nonetheless.
So, in 1 Peter 1:13, we are called upon to get girt.