No Pain No Gain

This phrase seems to hold true, not just in a physical sense.
"Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it." Luke 17:33

I was just listening to some talks on Church history and thinking about how the Catholic church became what it did. Up until the time of Constantine, roughly 300AD, Christians had been persecuted since Jesus' assension. They went through rough times, but flourished as a result. They were able to stand firm in their faith through tough times, enduring so admirably that non-Christians noticed.
When Christianity became allowed, and then abundant, Christians got comfortable. They started to forget about God and started to focus on themselves, their own glory and power.

Christianity is a religion based on sacrifice. Jesus set the ultimate example. Times are tough, but glory follows.

Truth is what we need to seek, not comfort. The truth of the matter is that we suck! We have sinned and fallen short of the ultimate and best plan that God has for us. Unless we accept the fact that we don't live up to the moral standard that we all have engrained in us, we can't understand why we need God. What is there to be comforted about if we don't admit to having troubles? If there is nothing wrong with hurting other people and living a sinful life in general, then why does it feel wrong? We have to come to the low point of seeing our depravity, before we try to grab onto the comfort that can be had in God. Jesus' death only means life if we realize that our state is wretched and helpless.

Hard times seem to come before good, its always good to remeber what you have come through. All the time I wish for things to be easy and great, but its easy to forget God when they are. He's merciful to allow us so many pleasures even in our fallen state, but He also knows better than we do, what is best to pull us back to Him.