I like hiking. Well I like being at a beautiful spot and I like the memory of hiking. But I hate the rest of it. I don’t like to be uncomfortable. Once I hit that point where I’m getting tired I’m done. Hiking is great until I’m tired, sweaty, and 5 miles away from the car and all I can think about is my couch and a cold drink. It’s always more fun in memory, but in the moment I would rather do something else.
I suspect that describes most of us in western culture. We so detest discomfort that we avoid it at all costs. We have made our lives as comfortable as possible. While I don’t think this was done with bad intentions I think it has had negative consequences on our walk with God. The second we run into a problem our gut reaction is to ditch God’s plan. We view the conflict in our lives as something to avoid at all costs.