"But the God of all grace who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." 1 Peter 5:10.
Have you taken the time since we last spoke to digest the request that Peter was making of God on our behalf? We saw that two of his desires were that we would:
#1- be made perfect
#2- that we would be established
We now want to look at the other two desires that Peter had for us. He continued with lifting us up before the Lord and asking Him to:
#3- "strengthen" us.
Peter is not speaking of strictly human strength here. Even though Paul informed us in 1 Timothy 4:8 (msg) that "Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever." Physical strength can take us only so far, but Peters thoughts were on our spiritual strength. He should know a little about that. He is the one who lost all spiritual stamina when the pressure was on and he denied the Lord. Jesus Himself told Peter; "But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers. Peter is taking the command of Jesus seriously as he prays that we would be strengthen. Our spiritual strength comes from the Holy Spirit. He is the one who enables us to live our lives victoriously, and to develop those spiritual muscles. God wants to strengthen those who are weak that their faith would not fail.
In Spurgeon's understanding of this verse he is quoted as saying: "that God would strengthen their souls, and the work of his grace in them, their faith, hope, and love; and strengthen them to perform their duties, to withstand temptations, oppose their own corruptions, bear the cross, reproaches, and persecutions, and do their generations work."
We need not to trust in our own strength for it will always let us down. We need to lean on the almighty because He never grows weary and He will never wear down. God wants to strengthen us so that we can be effective in warfare and the pulling down of strong holds that the enemy has placed in our lives and the lives of others. He does not want weak, anemic Christians, but mighty warriors for the kingdom of God.
Peter makes one last request of God. That He would:
#4- settle you
Have you ever seen a house after it has been built a while? The walls will begin to settle. A box of cereal settles during shipment and the contents become compacted, filling every little space of air that was once there. That is what God wants to do in us. To push out every area of our lives that is nothing but space. He wants us to become settled not on the foundation of the world which is sinking sand, but on His sure foundation and the truth of His Word. He wants us to become rooted and grounded in the love of God, to become grounded and settled in the faith and surety of the Gospel; to enjoy the fellowship of Christ and his body here on earth and to know with all confidence that you will eventually enter into heaven to dwell with him forever.
God wants our lives to become settled to the point that we will never again be subject to wavering, instability, and inconstancy in our devotion to him. God wants to settle us so that we would not waver in our calling or place our trust in anything but His eternal grace. He has given us the person of the Holy Spirit. Do you remember when you were a child and you were afraid. Your mom would pull you close to herself and whisper in your ear those words of comfort. Remember how the fear faded away and in its place came that confidence of peace and safety. That is what the Holy Spirit will do in your heart. When you feel fear, doubt, insecurity and a sense of wavering, He will draw you into the presence of God and if we listen we can hear His voice whispering to our hearts words that will settle us.
May the God of all grace make you perfect, established, strengthen, and settled. May you be perfectly formed and fitted into the image of His dear, beloved Son.
