Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been put to grief in various trials,
In comparison with the eternal bliss ahead, our present distresses are only temporary and brief (cf. Matthew 5:4-5; 2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Trials are necessary for the Christian. God uses them to perfect us (cf. James 1:3-4). However they tend to rob us of joy if we do not remember what Peter urged his readers to bear in mind here (cf. James 1:2).