FBCR - Passionate Belief

Once again, maybe was just in a gushing mood, but I could really identify with Steve Brubaker's sermon Sunday morning. He presented a pathway to passionate belief based on Matthew 13:15. First comes the studying, or gathering of facts; which is followed by the struggle to understand how to fit those facts together; which should result in following the truth decided on as a result of the struggle. He referred to "belief forged in the crucible of struggle" - imagine the intensity of the process - and stated that there are no shortcuts to passionate belief. He quoted an aged theologian who said, after his many years of study, that "Jesus loves me" was the greatest truth he had learned (or something like that). Compare that to a child who says the same thing, and then consider the following quote: "I wouldn't give a single thing for the simplicity on the near side of complexity. I would give my right arm for the simplicity on the far side of complexity."
It seems like I have gone through a fair amount of struggle in my history, trying to discover for myself what the Bible teaches. I have felt in the past that such struggle would not be necessary if I was firmly grounded in Scripture, if I read the Bible like I should... I still think there is truth in that, but it may take certain challenges from outside Scripture to make me even realize there is an issue to be struggled with, or at least to give me the urgency to engage in the struggle with gusto.