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Guest Blog
by
Dr. Lonnie Robinson

My life in many ways seems to have been one very long, standardized, fill-in-the-bubble-with-the-correct-answer test. It started in high school and culminated with the ACT. Then in college the same theme continued. To get into medical school I took the MCAT, but “arriving” in medical school didn’t bring an end to the exams. I began taking national boards while in medical school, a process that continued until after I received my degree. In residency I had in-service examinations and even after I started my practice I had to continue to take board certification exams.

Medical school taught me as much about test-taking skills as it did about diseases and treatments. As I cipher which the remaining of the multiple choices is correct or not, I have at times felt like one of those Texas Hold ‘Em poker players who must quickly calculate the odds of their needed card turning up from the deck. Sometimes it was less about knowing the material than knowing that “C” can’t be right, “B” is not an option, and it’s a coin-toss between “A” and “D”.

Testing is not fun for most of us. But the truth is, whether you are a doctor or teacher or plumber, testing is what proves your ability to do what you say you can do.

I also perform tests on my patients every day to prove or disprove disease. Testing can be uncomfortable, and if you have ever had a colonoscopy, pap smear or prostate examination, I know that you know what I am talking about. But if the results of the test are favorable, it can bring a sense of relief. Even a result that is not favorable can bring some relief, as it takes us from the realm of the unknown into the known – something we can now deal with out in the open, even if it is cancer or some other awful disease.

A stress test is often used to diagnose heart disease. When we exercise, the heart requires more blood flow, and the primary way our body increases the blood flow is by opening up the arteries or “dilating” them. When there is a blockage in one of the arteries that feeds the heart muscle, it cannot open up or dilate normally to allow more blood flow to the heart muscle. During the stress test, a significant blockage may manifest with characteristic changes on the EKG as part of the heart muscle is deprived of the oxygen it needs to contract and pump blood. When we see these changes on the EKG we become aware of the possibility of the underlying problem.

When we exercise regularly and stress our heart in that manner, it starts a process that creates side channels in the arteries that increases the blood flow. This process is a “natural bypass” of sorts called collateralization. Regular cardiovascular exercise can prevent heart disease by stressing the heart and creating this natural bypass around areas of blockage.

I feel as though I have been being “tested” in the last several months. It has not been a pleasant experience. At this point I don’t know if I have “passed”, but I trust and believe that I will be better in the end for having undergone this spiritual stress test of sorts.

It has proven some things about my faith: I know that God is good and holy and in control, even when I hurt or when bad things happen to good people or things seem out of control.

The test has also exposed the weaknesses in my spiritual life: I am more worldly than I realized, and He is more holy than I had recognized or remembered; I am, at my core, a very selfish and self-exalting person; I am probably too busy for my own good.

The thing about stress is that it can either break us or makes us stronger. Like collateralization, stress can bring changes that ultimately save us from certain harm. A muscle that is not stressed will atrophy and grow weak, while one that is pushed regularly becomes stronger and more well-defined. Similarly, a faith that has not been tested has not been proven, and will not grow and become stronger, but rather will tend to atrophy from disuse.

I am reading a book by Randy Alcorn titled “If God is Good” and I highly recommend it. In it he retells the story of another author’s experience in a modern-day leper colony in India:

Howard Hendricks tells of visiting a leprosy center in India. The morning he arrived, the residents were gathered for a praise service. One of the women with leprosy hobbled to the platform. Hendricks said that even though she was partially blind and badly disfigured, she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Raising both of her nearly fingerless hands toward Heaven, she said in a clear voice, “ I want to praise God that I am a leper because it was thorough my leprosy that I came to know Jesus Christ as my Savior. And I would rather be a leper who knows Christ than be completely whole and a stranger to His grace.”

The surgeon inflicts suffering on the patient and the parent disciplines the child, but they do good, not evil. Likewise, God can permit and even bring suffering upon his children without being morally evil. God hates moral evil and is committed to utterly destroying it. Yet for now he allows evil and suffering, and can providentially use them for his own good purposes.

Wow…I think I had better go study for my test…I have a lot to learn.

LR