But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (1 Peter 5:10)
“after you have suffered” – the Greek phrase means to experience or be affected by a sensation (painful)
“perfect” – to cause to be or become, to complete, to make one what he ought to be
“establish” – to make stable, make firm, set fast, place firmly, to turn resolutely in a certain direction
“strengthen” – to make strong
“settle” – to lay the foundation, to make stable, establish
The meanings of each of these words are intertwined which leads me to believe that Peter is saying the same thing over and over in a different way, as if one word is not enough to give you the full picture of the meaning. If I had to summarize, I’d say suffering is a tool that God can use to cause you to become spiritually complete and stable, as you ought to be. I picture a thick iron stake being driven into the ground and once it’s there it’s firm, immovable, placed, solid.
Suffering is not purposeless or unproductive. God can and does work suffering for good, and often times, our good. May this verse encourage you to see God in your trials.
