Path of Least Resistance

Hebrews 5:8
    Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;

2 Cor. 8:2
    How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.

1 Peter 4:12
    Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

I hold an Associates of Arts degree in electronics from Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College with a 3.7 GPA.  One interesting point I learned from these classes is that circuits are built to get you to have the right amount of amperage and voltage in the right places to get electronics to work.  Also the one thing I learned is that electricity will take the path of least resistance, or at least as much as it could.  The same goes with lightning.  This is the reason that it isn't a simple zap across the sky or to the ground.  There is resistance in the air that causes the electricity to scatter through the atmosphere.
If you watched water run along the ground, it follows the same principle.  A small trickle down the street will show that instead of following a straight path it sometimes zigzags down to its destination.  This principle is taught on golf courses on the greens.  Golfers use this to judge the path the ball with take to get to the hole.
Why do I bring this up? 
I have seen Christians act the same way, by wanting to take the path of least resistance.  So many are taught that God will bless them, prosper them, protect them, even keeping them from sickness.  I even got a "prophecy" that God would just give us money to keep us going in our time of need.  This may be well in good, but we wanted to work and do things as God intended, not sit on our duffs and expect God to give us money.  And yes, we did eventually leave the church.
How is it that we can expect to have the easy way out in a world where the hatred is Jesus runs high?  How can Jesus go through the purging and beating of His life as the Son of God and we can escape any trials and tribulations?   The other question should be asked simply:
     If the Bible talks of trials and tribulations, there MUST be a reason for its necessity.
Another simple factor we need to see is the Apostle Paul.  If you can fathom the life he went through, most on the prosperity message would be appalled.  I am trying this at memory, so please forgive me if I get something wrong or miss something, just a disclaimer I need to make here.
Paul was beaten twice with rods, beaten with cat-o-nine tails, shipwrecked, bitten by snakes, stoned to death (more on this "theory" later), and thrown in prison multiple times.  Does this sound like living a path without trials and suffering?  I challenge anyone in the Word of Faith to live this life in the midst of their prosperity message.  Yet, Paul was responsible for two-thirds of the New Testament writings and God endorsed his letters.
I also have heard of leaders who claim their "portal" in the third heavens, but none of them come even close to how Paul went through to get there.  Most theologians believe that Paul was stoned and left for dead when he mentioned a man fourteen years ago (see 2 Corinthians 12:2).  My question is that Paul was left for dead and the Bible mentions him as the only one to experience the third heavens through this suffering of standing in the faith yet, we can have people who claim this without any sort of spiritual or physical persecution.  What makes these modern people better, or in the same playing field, as the Apostle Paul?
In Hebrews, a simple verse shows that even the Son of Man went through suffering to learn obedience.  WHAT?  Remember, Jesus even prayed that the chalice of affliction would be passed on if all possible.  Yet, He went through the punishment from the Romans brought on by the Pharisees, choosing to be obedient than the path of least resistance. 
I do understand that we are creatures of habit, and I believe none of us would want the path of trials or affliction.  We must decide if these tribulations and persecution are bringing glory to Jesus.  Countless believers have lost their lives in their faith in Christ.  In America, western civilization and materialism has destroyed and belief in many churches on the benefit of trials and tribulations.  Even the world says the godly SHALL be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).  We need to examine our faith if you haven't been even the least bit persecuted for Jesus.  Also note, as the last days roll toward the Great Tribulation, the persecution against the church will continue to increase, even in America (and if you haven't seen it in the news, you are not alert to the media's hatred for Christianity.
I do not know how I will react each time these trials come through, but I am to count it joy.  I cannot say I will be automatic when me or my family are facing persecution.  Everyone will not act the same.  Many will give in from the pressure and denounce Jesus to save their own lives.  Many are giving in to the lies of the enemy and preaching it from the pulpits, but very few stand against these false teachings.  As long as churches allow the enemy to use the world to influence the Body, we are unwilling, and unable, to walk through the storm.  There is testing of faith and strengthening through these storms, and many are willing to miss out on increasing their faith.  We become content.  And we wonder why the church no longer influences the world - the world influences the church. 
Our liberty is in the Spirit of God, our abundance of joy comes from Him, not our affliction.  When Stephen as in the process of being stoned, he saw Jesus standing on the right hand of the Father before he passed on.  NOTE:  Jesus STOOD.  He saw honor in this.  How do we desire to be honored?

Jeremiah 6:16

Michael