How to Incorporate Life Long Learning Into Your New YearSample

Day 3: Be Willing to Run a Hypothesis (Test all things!)

One of the key elements of learning is experimentation. When I was at university (or what Americans call ‘college’), I studied Business and Psychology with French BSc. It was a challenging degree, but my favourite part was exploring hypotheses in psychology.

Essentially, a hypothesis is an idea or explanation that you test through study or experimentation. The world is full of wonder, and everything can be tested. Even God calls us to test—He asks us to test spirits, our faith, our hearts. He invites us to test what is good, to test His Word, and even His promises.

If we want to adopt lifelong learning, we must be willing to test our ideas and hypotheses. So, test God’s Word, test your gifts, perhaps prophesy to sharpen your discernment, test your faith, your understanding, and your obedience.

Here are a few hypotheses I have tested:

- Staying away from my phone in the mornings improves my relationship with God.

- Learning Mandarin will improve my ability to connect with Chinese expats in my community.

- Setting aside one hour of silence each day will improve my emotional maturity over time.

- Exercising every day will increase my overall energy.

- Praying three times a day will develop greater discipline within me.

- God will provide an answer if I ask Him about anything.

Action: Think of some theories you can test. Read about Daniel’s test for inspiration (Daniel 1:11–16).

Let’s see what you discover!