You Just Need To Have More Faith!

"You just need to have more faith!" has been a common expression in many Churches in recent decades.  The was often said in response to self-perceived unanswered prayers usually related to ones comfort (i.e. our health or finances).... [heaven forbid we pray for someone other than ourselves].

There is a segment in the Christian community and in most Christian minds that feel as though if we live following God's ways that everything will be comfortable.  And if things aren't, it's because of our level of faith.  And yet when we read Acts, the early Church was filled with great faith (perhaps the greatest faith the Church has ever seen) and it resulted in greater discomfort.  This leads me to believe, that in this season of life (before Christ's return), those with the greatest faith will be hurled into incredibly uncomfortable situations and those with little faith will be lulled to sleep by the comfort of our world and the appetite of our flesh.

God isn't cruel however.  He has a purpose in mind when we journey through trials and temptations... he is working in and through us, preparing us and others, for what's in store... Heaven!  Hebrews 11 captures this well...

Excerpts from Hebrews 11 (NIV) - Read all of Hebrews 11 for even greater context.
1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. ... 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. ...  36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

As Christians we shouldn't seek pain and discomfort... we should seek to share, by faith, Christ's death and resurrection by following Him, guided by His Word, and empowered and gifted by His Spirit.  Following Him, however, will result in uncomfortable situations (like having less things, going to foreign lands, using our time for things that aren't our flesh-preference).

So who do you think has more faith, the person who worships God in the midst of comfort or the person who worships God in the midst of difficulties?  This isn't a rhetorical question either... there is actually a good argument for both... in comfort faith fights pride and in sacrifice faith fights pride.  I guess this all could be simply summarized by saying follow God and worship Him in the good and bad... God's grace can be revealed in both.