Get Your Mind Ready for Suffering, 1 Peter 1:13-25
The United States Army equips soldiers with elite weapons and high-tech body armor so that they can strike and survive.
While kevlar is helpful against enemy rounds, the US military began to realize that they were not investing enough in protecting and arming the soldier’s mind.
As one of the researchers at Walter Reed Medical Center described it, “We can’t keep sending bodies where we haven’t prepared their minds to go.”
And so a program called Battlemind was developed. The purpose of the program is to teach soldiers “how to face fear and adversity in combat with courage.” Battlemind helps a soldier navigate the stress and trauma of battle with resiliency.
You and I will face adversity. We will go through what the Peter calls “various trials.” We will suffer in this life. It is unavoidable and there are no exemptions.
What if you could know that whatever comes your way that you are spiritually and mentally ready to face the stress of it with courage and resiliency?
What if you could develop a mentality to not just survive suffering, but to make an effective strike against evil and darkness while you are suffering?
To do so we have to get our minds right.
1 Peter 1:13 calls for us to prepare our minds for action. These words are drawn from the image of an ancient worker, preparing for labor. It is the image of a warrior preparing for a fight. They would take the length of their robes and tunics and tuck them into their belts. Doing so gave them freedom of response and movement.
And so Peter is calling for us to take some loose ends in our thinking, some things that would slow us down, and let’s get it tucked in, put away, secured in truth. Let’s get our minds right to face adversity with courage and resiliency.
Three areas of focus in our premeditated response to suffering:
The way I think.
The way I act.
The way I relate to others.
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