It’s frustrating when it seems we’re faced with the same tests in life again. Didn’t we learn our lesson the first time? But remembering a test is not the same as fully embodying what we’ve learned. And a good final exam tests our cumulative knowledge over a period of time. It’s not meant to trick us, but rather to solidify what we’ve learned.
To be sure, once we know something there’s no longer a real test that can be given. We’re no longer tested on the spelling of our name, for example. But other things we’ve experienced, and perhaps remember, but we’ve not practiced enough to fully integrate into our way of being.
Recalling anatomy, for instance, is not the same as being competent to perform surgery. And a surgeon must be tested on the latter regardless of how much he recalls the former. In the same way, familiar tests might come our way, but our challenge now is mastery is not merely recall.
For example, our hope might be tested time and again. While we might recall God showing up for us previously, this is a distant memory as we face our current storms of life. And what’s being called out of us now is a deeper hope that serves as an anchor for our souls. We know the right answer, but will we live in hope during our dark days?
Our current test is not to discount our previous experiences, but to build on them – taking hope from merely theoretical, or even momentary, to a way of being that permeates our entire being. And we might have to take several more exams before we know this lesson as well as our own names.
In the end, some tests in life come more than once. This is not a point of despair but rather an opportunity to solidify what we’ve learned.
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