Peter’s first readers obviously knew very well what the “various trials” on their path were. We, however, who live centuries later do not know the details of what troubled them to the degree the first readers did. Even so, the letter contains several indications. 1 Peter 1:1 informed us that Peter’s readers were strangers in a strange land. 1 Peter 2:11 adds that because they were exiles and sojourners, they needed to be deliberate in being different in their conduct, a reality that attracts negative attention (1 Peter 4:3–5). In 1 Peter 4:12 Peter even speaks about a “fiery trial,” and in 1 Peter 4:14 to being “insulted.” These challenges burdened those exiles. Yet in the trials, they rejoiced at the opportunities and inheritance that came with their (spiritual) rebirth.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,