This kind of "missing the mark" doesn't mean we didn't learn that truth before (maybe even for the 2nd, 3rd, or however many times); we just hadn't applied it to that new situation ¹yet.
We may have a sound grasp of some powerfully liberating truths, but every new situation becomes an opportunity to apply that same truth in a new way - to a new situation.
Though God's truth applies to all aspects of life, we have not lived out every situation or every aspect of life (and may never) where those truths need to apply. We are constantly encountering ¹new circumstances that require a previously learned truth be applied to that new situation.
If you struggle (and discover you need to) to apply a particular truth God has already helped you learn well in other areas, don't beat yourself up. Where sin abounds, grace abounds more. We are all spiritually fragile and still inclined away from God, no matter how long you have walked with Him. He is always expanding our trust in Him.
For example, the truth of being content no matter what your circumstances may be may be firmly embedded in our heart, but when a new situation presents itself that creates discontentment, that is the clue we haven't applied it to this new situation. You will need to apply what you've already learned in other areas before you have a sense of peace and contentment again in this new area.
Though God's truth applies to all aspects of life, we have not lived out every situation or every aspect of life (and may never) where those truths need to apply. We are constantly encountering ¹new circumstances that require a previously learned truth be applied to that new situation.
If you struggle (and discover you need to) to apply a particular truth God has already helped you learn well in other areas, don't beat yourself up. Where sin abounds, grace abounds more. We are all spiritually fragile and still inclined away from God, no matter how long you have walked with Him. He is always expanding our trust in Him.
We still struggle with subtly buried distrust in some area we haven't seen yet, regardless of how long we have walked with God. New circumstances bring previously hidden distrust to the surface of our awareness. We only need to learn to apply an already understood truth to this new situation as well.
For example, the truth of being content no matter what your circumstances may be may be firmly embedded in our heart, but when a new situation presents itself that creates discontentment, that is the clue we haven't applied it to this new situation. You will need to apply what you've already learned in other areas before you have a sense of peace and contentment again in this new area.
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¹This in fact may be exactly what Christ experienced when he learned obedience through the things he suffered...yet without sin i.e., Christ was never disobedient. He struggled with some
of the choices he had to make when new struggles presented themselves, but He never stopped trusting, always making the best and most God-honoring choice each time. He simply went from untested obedience to tested obedience...and unlike us, who often fail to trust God in all areas and situations we encounter, he always passed the test i.e. He always trusted His Father - He was always without sin.
¹This in fact may be exactly what Christ experienced when he learned obedience through the things he suffered...yet without sin i.e., Christ was never disobedient. He struggled with some
of the choices he had to make when new struggles presented themselves, but He never stopped trusting, always making the best and most God-honoring choice each time. He simply went from untested obedience to tested obedience...and unlike us, who often fail to trust God in all areas and situations we encounter, he always passed the test i.e. He always trusted His Father - He was always without sin.
And because He encountered new areas where He had to entrust Himself to the Father, He understands and sympathizes with our struggles because he also struggled in every way we have, but always succeeded where we fail; i.e., He never failed to trust from His initial testing in the wilderness after his baptism up to his struggling in prayer in Gethsemane right before he was betrayed and crucified.
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Grace to you
Jim Deal