Sovereignty is both sweet and bitter but always good. Peter is not launching a new theme in this text but developing the point he originally made when he called his readers “elect exiles” or "chosen rejected ones" (1:1) in an effort to prepare minds for the inevitable suffering that all Christians encounter. His point is simple to interpret but hard to embrace—"Don’t be surprised by trials, rejoice in them!” But he doesn’t just lay this imperative on us, he tells us how to do it.