Tag Archives: psychology

Hunting for God’s Will

In the 1997 movie Good Will Hunting, Robin Williams plays a psychology professor struggling to accept his wife’s death.  When a colleague stumbles across a raw specimen, an orphan played by Matt Damon who is gifted in advanced Mathematics, Williams is called in as a last resort.  Williams reluctantly accepts this challenge, searching for the good within Will, beyond the layers of evil, heart break and frustration stuck inside this young man.

Despite being a juvenile, with a long rap sheet in and out of prison, Will recognizes his God given gift.  Thus, he becomes a janitor at Harvard, cleaning the hallways just outside of an Advanced Mathematics classroom.  Will even goes as far as completing a problem, left by a professor in the hallway, seeing if any one could solve it.  During a lunch with his girl friend played by Minnie Driver, Will comes to a ground breaking conclusion.  Curious about Will’s unusual love for Organic Chemistry, Matt Damon responds to Minnie’s question.  Comparing himself to Beethoven, he confesses, “I don’t know anything about music, but when I see math’s equations, I can just play.”

A few years ago, I assumed that I would remain a Bible teacher until my youngest daughter graduated high school.  Since being laid off, I have been hunting for God’s will the past 2 years.   Currently, I have several hours to think to myself at work, forcing me to reflect upon where I am.  In response to my search, I heard the whisper of the Holy Spirit, in a clear and direct reply this week, “you are a writing prophet.”  While I am not exactly sure what this means, I do feel a sense of peace knowing for the past 17 months I have been faithful to God’s calling.  Like Will in Good Will Hunting, I’m not exactly sure how or why I write what I do.  However, when I sit down in front of my computer, the power of the Holy Spirit takes over, leading me toward God’s will.  May this movie and my testimony inspire you to hunt for God’s will in your own life, Romans 12:2.

by Jay Mankus

Thy Way; not My Ways

Lately, I feel like a white rat being used for a psychology experiment.  Lab Technicians are observing my progress as I work my way through a labyrinth.  As I attempt to get from point A, unemployment, to point B, a full time position which utilizes my God given talents, I keep running into dead ends.  The moment I think I have arrived, God puts up another road block similar to Acts 16:6-7, whispering, “this is not the path I have chosen for you.”

Befuddled, clueless and dumbfounded, I am running out of options.  Though I am becoming an expert in writing cover letters, my percentages of interest these emails have generated makes me feel like an amateur fisherman who is being toyed with by smarter fish.  Since my ways are failing daily, Proverbs 19:21, I hope the growing pains I am encountering end soon as I move aside toward Yahweh’s way.

As my trial nears a full calendar year tomorrow, the words of the apostle Paul in Philippians 2:12-13 have a deeper meaning for me.  Trying to work out your salvation is a grueling process, a clear indication that sanctification is a long way from completion.  Despite my best efforts, I am still a sinner in desperate need of a Savoir, Romans 6:23.  Therefore, while I currently attend the school of hard knocks, I long to graduate soon, seeking to become a Rhode scholar on Thy Way!

by Jay Mankus

Deja Vu

This morning I awoke to an awkward feeling’, like I am reliving 2001 all over again.  Unlike Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, my life has become synonymous with the classic Yes song Roundabout written by Jon Anderson and Steven James Howe.  Instead of going on vacation to a lake in the mountains, I have completed a 12 year cycle which has brought me back to where I was in 2001.

The eerie sensation known as deja vu has been attributed to the paranormal, neurological disorders and our own understanding of human recognition memory.  From a psychological perspective, the brain fluctuates between 2 different types of recognition memory: recollection and familiarity.  When our mind processes the here and now, it can trigger emotions from previous times in our past, identical or similar to what we are currently undergoing.  Thereby, producing the phenomena deja vu.

I believe people are born to do certain occupations and professions in life before they die.  Like Doc Graham in the movie Field of Dreams, if he decided to play professional baseball his entire life, he would have never impacted people like he did as a doctor.  In the same way, God has made it painfully clear in 2012 that God has designed me to be a teacher.  The events of 9/1/01 paved the way for me to become a Bible teacher for a decade.  Now I am waiting to be rescued from a pile of debt, shattered dreams and a wounded heart.

Emergency workers, fighter fighters and police who laid down their lives on that  fateful day, ran into the World Trade Center as others were fleeing the scene to save as many people as humanly possible.  Likewise, as Jesus’ disciples tried to fight for his life in Matthew 26:51, Jesus surrendered, laying down his life as a ransom to pay for my sin, Matthew 20:28.  Although I may not be where I feel called at this moment in time, God can, has and will lead me to where I need to be.

by Jay Mankus