Everyone falls into one of three categories. 1) You’re in the midst of a trial. 2) You’re coming out of a trial. 3) You’re about to find yourself in a trial. Trials are painful circumstances allowed by God to shape our conduct and our character. It’s important to distinguish between trials and consequences, though. Consequences are the natural outcome of my choices. What makes it hard is that in our sin both trials and consequences can get mixed together in the same circumstance. Peter is writing to a group of people who are “grieved by various trials”. But he reminds them that the trials we face all have purpose, so we can and should face them in hope!