Remember the two questions to ask at the beginning of a new book? (1) Who wrote the book?, and (2) Why was it written? Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote this book. And it was written to a group of exiled Christians (meaning they'd been taken away from their home), encouraging them to hold fast to the living hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, even in the midst of suffering.
Verses 6-8 of this first chapter give us a great snapshot of what I just described as the purpose of this book. "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory."
Similar to what James said to his church, Peter tells his readers to rejoice—not because of the trials themselves—but because their faith will get tested by the trials and be found genuine. The result is a joy that is (1) inexpressible (literally, W.O.W.!), and (2) filled with glory (because it glorifies Christ when his followers endure suffering because they love him so much).
When we face trials in life it can be tempting to get upset and complain. That's what the world does, so the world's not gonna fault you for that. But these are opportunities to be different! These are opportunities to show that our faith in Jesus is genuine by enduring these tests with inexpressible joy.
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