GOD: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher - The Podcast
GOD: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher - The Podcast
251. What's On Our Mind- Has This Task Got Your Name On It? Intuition, Ego & Energy Signs
In this What’s On Our Mind episode, we ask: how do you know when a task has your name on it?
In a noisy world full of choices, it can be hard to discern your true path. Is it just hard work, or a sign you’re on the wrong road? We explore stories of callings, intuition, and spiritual discernment, and how energy, peace, and prayer become signposts for purpose.
Through everyday examples — from saying no with clarity, to receiving encouragement from others, to God-centered prayer — we highlight how guidance shows up in radically personal ways. The conversation also introduces new podcast series: From God to Jerry to You, Intimate Dialogue, Radically Personal, and What’s Your Spiritual Story?
For anyone seeking everyday spirituality, practical discernment, and a deeper sense of purpose, this episode offers encouragement to listen, trust, and follow the path that already has your name on it.
Related Episodes:
250. Special Episode: Suffering, Growth & Divine Love | Celebrating 250 Episodes
249. Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue – The Summons of Love and Life’s True Calling
Other Series:
The podcast began with the Dramatic Adaptation of the book and now has several series:
The Life Wisdom Project – Spiritual insights on living a wiser, more meaningful life.
From God to Jerry to You – Divine messages and breakthroughs for seekers.
Two Philosophers Wrestle With God – A dialogue on God, truth, and reason.
Jerry & Abigail: An Intimate Dialogue – Love, faith, and divine presence in partnership.
What’s Your Spiritual Story – Real stories of people changed by encounters with God.
What’s On Our Mind – Reflections from Jerry and Scott on recent episodes.
What’s On Your Mind – Listener questions, divine answers, and open dialogue.
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Scott Langdon [00:00:16]: This is God: An Autobiography, The Podcast — a dramatic adaptation and continuing discussion of the book God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin. He was a lifelong agnostic, but one day he had an occasion to pray. To his vast surprise, God answered — in words. Being a philosopher, he had a lot of questions, and God had a lot to tell him. 251.
Scott Langdon [00:01:06]: Hello and welcome to God: An Autobiography, the Podcast. I’m Scott Langdon. And today Jerry Martin and I return for What’s on Our Mind. Last week we celebrated our 250th episode with the entire team and shared with you our excitement about what lies ahead with this program. Today, Jerry and I get together again and explain a little more in detail about what’s coming up in weeks ahead. We begin our conversation, however, by addressing the very difficult question of determining, in a world full of so much noise and so many confusing choices, which path is my particular path? What is it I’m supposed to do? What task, as Abigail would say, has my name on it? Here’s What’s On Our Mind. I hope you enjoy the episode.
Scott Langdon [00:02:06]: I’m here with Jerry Martin, and here we are with episode number 251. We had a wonderful celebration last week, episode 250, and all of the podcast sphere — you know, Buzzsprout, where we have our sort of central location — make a big deal out of 250. So we thought, hey, why not? Let’s celebrate it. And it was a wonderful time, Jerry, celebrating that 250th.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:02:30]: Well, it is a big deal, Scott. We’ve had our listeners, you know, you create a kind of relationship with your listeners and with us, I’m sure, if they come back. And then that 250th celebration, we once again got together. And the whole team, including now Abigail, because she’s part of the Intimate Dialogue, and shared our stories with each other in connection with our work together.
Scott Langdon [00:03:00]: Yes, it was wonderful to hear from everyone. And we're gonna talk a little bit later about a series that we're doing that we're gonna debut soon called Radically Personal, based on your new book. And one of the things that was great — you were just mentioning to me before we came on to record here — how that episode was very radically personal, in that each one of us, Mandi, Laura, Abigail, you and I, have this radically personal story that we were telling each other and that we were telling all of our listeners. But that's what keeps us coming back week after week on those Zoom calls — not just the business of things. That could be handled in an email. But the personal personalities of all of us in combination with God there with us collectively is a unique, wonderful experience.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:03:51]: We like seeing each other. And at this point, of course, we know something about their families and woes and wills. And, you know, I shared where I sliced my thumb with a paper cutter. And so we all share these moments with each other.
Scott Langdon [00:04:10]: Yes, yes. One of the things that I really like about what we get to do, you and I, here on this series, What’s on Our Mind, is we kind of go back over the past few episodes. And there are always things when I am putting together one of these episodes that pop out to me in my personal journey. And I will write them down and maybe have some questions, or I’ll put it into something I’ll want to talk to you about later. And this week, something very specific popped out to me. And it was when Abigail was talking with you, I believe, first on the Jerry and Abigail Intimate Dialogue that we did most recently, but then also on the 250th episode — the idea of a task that, as Abigail says, had my name on it. And that stuck out to me because in this day and age, with so much information and so many things coming at us, I’ve witnessed young people especially. And when I say young people, I’m thinking maybe college age and high school, college, but then coming out of college and trying to break into the world — what is my mark? What am I doing? What is my purpose? What am I here for? And there are so many ways to go, and it’s so confusing. And we have this desire to find a purpose and to make our lives have meaning. But with all of the busyness and all of the noise, it's hard to discern which task has my name on it.
Scott Langdon [00:05:49]: I have found that one of my most difficult things to discern is: is this path I’m on just difficult and I’ve got to work hard? Because I can work hard. I’m a hard worker, I’m first one in, last one to leave. But I also have a real trepidation for — I don’t know if it’s wasting time, I feel, or not. You know, that I’ve gone down the wrong path and — oh no, this isn’t it. And then I’ve got to go all the way back and go down the other fork in the road. And so sometimes I find myself paralyzed. And those times when I am paralyzed between those two places — is this just hard work, or is this the wrong path? — I start to deal with my depression and my anxiety and things. And so being in tune with God and asking God, you know, work with me here on this — it’s a difficult thing. So I wanted to ask your thoughts on how do we discern what kind of task has my name on it.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:06:50]: Yeah. I started thinking about that because you said we’d be talking about that, and it obviously comes out of these last episodes that all have to do with either people’s spiritual stories, or the radically personal idea, or finding one’s path — figuring out what I am supposed to do. And there’s no… well, I always stress this is part of the point of the book, Radically Personal. There’s not just one big answer for everybody all the time. At some generic level, somebody could say there might be, but in our real lives, you’ve got to figure out what are you gonna do today, what are you gonna do tomorrow? What are your priorities?
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:07:29]: And when I think of how people found their life calling, some episodes come to my mind of people I’ve encountered. One was a young woman who saw people signing — you know, deaf people — but she didn’t know what they were. What are they, what’s that about? But somehow instantly she knew: I’m supposed to be helping those people. And she became a signer or interpreter, whatever you call it, the people who you see up front at a talk where they're putting the language of the speaker into signs. She does that, among other things, helpful to that deaf community. So that just came to her.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:08:11]: You have to often trust your intuitions. A lot of life is about, hey, this is intuition. I asked a local minister, how did you receive your calling? A minister is supposed to receive a calling — not just decide, oh, I think I’d be good at ministering, you know, or making speeches every Sunday. But I asked, how did yours come to you? And he said, “God laid a burden on my heart.” Sometimes what you should do, as well as what you shouldn’t do, just shows up in the middle of your body. And you know, you just feel it one way or another — yes, I should do this, or whoa, shouldn’t do that.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:08:54]: Another one: a guy had gotten out of the army. He was very good at being a soldier, but didn’t like the army politics. And so he’d gotten out, but what to do with himself now? He knew he was good at numbers. And he went to an evening church service — one Wednesday night prayer service — and the minister said, “Could I talk to you a little after this?” And he did. George is his name. “George, there are a number of families in the congregation who are having a lot of trouble managing their money, their finances. Could you help them sort that out? How to think about that, how to organize it?” He became a financial advisor. You know, it was as though that moment told him his calling.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:09:48]: So often it is situational. In what I do in daily life, things may come my way, as happened in these stories, but I quiet myself. We’re always talking about this — the importance of getting the clutter out of the way, getting quiet. One of the things you have to put aside is your willfulness. So I always talk about God-centered prayer. “Thy will be done” is the crucial prayer. Lord, what do you want me to do? I pray in this very personal way, but you can frame it differently. What am I supposed to be doing today? And whatever that is, you can put it in Taoist language — you don’t have to force it, the water automatically flows down into the pond. The Taoists point out you don’t have to force it. So what is the natural flow of your life? And let go of the willfulness where you’re trying to manage it and force it into some mold — just let go.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:11:01]: As I say, I do it mainly with prayer and a personal God. “What do you want me to do?” Sometimes I have a list. I kind of get either a verbal answer or a sense of an answer. You don’t need words. Sometimes, just after you pray, you kind of know — well, yeah, this is the number one priority, and that other thing was no good or can wait. And so those are among the methods. But the key, I think, is getting quiet and being willing to let go rather than force situations. Let God, or the natural flow of things, wants.
Scott Langdon [00:11:48]: I think it’s really interesting in those stories that you mentioned that someone else was involved. The soldier, for example, who was approached by the minister. And when the minister said, “Can I talk to you for a minute?” the soldier said, sure, and then listened. So sometimes for me, ultimately, we can say at the end it’s about this feeling inside — you decide what you’re going to do and how you’re going to spend your time, and it feels like the thing to do. But that intuition can sometimes come through someone else, saying to you, “I think this is something that would look good on you. This task has your name on it.”
Scott Langdon [00:12:38]: And sometimes it’s no. Somebody asked me if I would write a column for a couple of weeks for this thing. And I thought, that’s a really nice idea, I’d be really good at it, and good for this person who asked me — but it’s too much for me right now. So I didn’t feel like that was a test, like God was saying, “Let me test him and see what he does.” At the same time, here comes a thing that was offered by a dear friend. I thought about it, weighed reasons for and against. All the “for” reasons were about how my friend would feel if I said yes. All the “against” reasons were about me — how I felt about it, where I felt my direction was.
Scott Langdon [00:13:32]: So it wasn’t about how my friend would feel; it was about how I was feeling about where I was headed. And so I said, you know, thank you for thinking of me, ask me another time — but right now, it’s not good for me. And he said, “Great, no problem.” And I sat on that for a while, thinking: was this ego? Partly ego says, someone likes my writing, people might connect with it. Another ego side was, my friend will be disappointed if I say no. On the other side, it was: how does this feel in my life? That felt more connected to God. Strip away how it looks to others — how does it show up for you? Does this feel like something you need to spend your time on right now? The answer came back no. And it felt right to say no. That was a real-life thing that just happened to me, but the kind of thing that happens to us every day.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:15:17]: Yeah, it’s a perfect example — where there are these competing goods. To please your friends is a good. To write a piece that would be worthwhile is a good. To satisfy your ego can be a good. But you can’t do all good things simultaneously. Then the question becomes: okay, telescope it down. Today, tomorrow, this week — what should I do? And so if I’m praying, that’s my question almost daily. And the right decision usually gives you a kind of peace of mind or internal harmony. If it’s ego, it often doesn’t — because the ego is demanding and unruly and never quite satisfied.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:16:31]: One key — I think I read this somewhere, but it has seemed true to me — is if a task gives you energy, that’s a very good sign. Because we’re whole organic systems, not just brains. Something that gives your whole system — body, mind, soul — energy is a very good sign. Some people you talk to and you feel energy drain away. Others, or certain activities, make your system flourish suddenly. That’s a good sign. Somewhere I read: your body is also the voice of God. So pay attention to that.
Scott Langdon [00:18:06]: 250, five years of weekly episodes, and here w are on the other side of that, the down side, I don’t know. But here we are, 251. Coming up, episode 252, we’re gonna start a brand new unit. Now, being a former teacher, college professor, and you being a former college professor, we kind of talk in terms of units of lessons and things — a vernacular that fits us. That’s how we set things up on the podcast.
Scott Langdon [00:18:34]: A unit consists of five series that we’re doing, and we’re shifting things around a little bit. The bookends of things are gonna be the same: From God to Jerry to You will start off a unit — that’s gonna be our next episode next week. Then Jerry and Abigail in Intimate Dialogue. That has been such a wonderful series that we’ve added. That’s conversations between you and Abigail — we’ll be continuing that. Then a new series called Radically Personal, based on your book where you’re going to be talking to us. And then a slight change on What’s on Your Mind, we had folks writing into us and we still welcome, we love to hear from you always, please send us some emails. But we’re going to do something a little different, we teased it earlier, but it’s going to be: What’s Your Spiritual Story? — where you interview someone about their radically personal story.
Scott Langdon [00:19:49]: Our first spiritual story in this new wave of units is going to be from Laura Buck, our producer of the show and your longtime assistant. So I’m really excited to hear that. And finally, to round up a unit will be this episode, What’s on Our Mind, where you and I talk and get a chance to talk about what’s on our mind. So I wanted to talk about these new things that are going to be added. From God to Jerry to You, what’s coming up?
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:20:15]: Well, basically the idea there is that I draw from God: An Autobiography. Not just to repeat one episode or chapter, but usually looking at some topic. For example, the topic of guidance is scattered all through the book. I’ll take one theme — like suffering, which I did recently — and pull together what God told me at different places, and what are the implications of that. How can we make use of what God told me.
Scott Langdon [00:21:07]: The next episode in our series, which would follow From God to Jerry to You, is Jerry and Abigail in Intimate Dialogue. And as I mentioned, that’s been just such a breath of fresh air to have Abigail come in. The two of you talk about things that have happened in your daily life that you’ve struggled with together, and how to call on God and hear God in the midst of suffering but also in the midst of just daily life.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:21:35]: Yeah, that’s wonderful. Abigail and I have always had a fascinating breakfast together — a late breakfast, a brunch. It’s our morning seminar, where we catch up with each other personally, and also share what we’re reading, thinking about, maybe writing. Abigail is unpredictable — I start the discussion with the topic from From God to Jerry to You, but where we go from there is unpredictable.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:22:08]: And this last Intimate Dialogue was particularly relevant. You’ve quoted it already here, Scott, of Abigail saying, when asked why she was in this fight, “Well, it had my name on it.” That’s a good summation — why are you doing this? It somehow has your name on it.
Scott Langdon [00:22:40]: The third series in our unit coming up that we’re going to put into the regular rotation is The Radically Personal. It’s based on your book, Radically Personal.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:23:01]: Yeah, the book actually obviously grew out of God: An Autobiography and those experiences. God says, tell My story. And then you see, what is God’s story? God walks me through the founding texts of various world religions. It shows what God was up to with all these different cultures. And a lot of what came out of that was religions and wisdom traditions.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:23:32]: The final implication of that is God gave different revelations to different people, showing different sides of God — including the non-personal sides. They fit what each culture had a talent for or particularly needed, or that God needed them to do. And that seems to go all the way down to the individual. Different cultures allow different aspects of God to manifest. But there are many more types of people than just the handful of great cultures, and we each must play that role also.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:24:19]: In fact, late in the book, God says, “My story is everybody else’s story combined. I live through these stories.” God can’t mail a letter/ God doesn’t walk around the earth doing a bunch of things — God is right here, inside us, doing it with us in all our many adventures. And the longer I live, the more struck I am by how many different kinds of people there are, and how many different types of value they actualize. The artist does something completely different from the biologist.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:25:10]: Because Abigail broke a hip, and I’ve had back trouble, we’ve had many physical therapists coming and going. I’ve been thinking — these are wonderful people, very dedicated, more so than a typical doctor who says, “Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” Physical therapists really try to figure out: what does Abigail need, what does Jerry need? Move this way, stand this way, practice that. I told one of them the other day, you’re wonderful at this.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:25:45]: It’s a complex thing — not just knowing physiology, but dealing with people, their sensitivities. You can’t just march them through like a boot camp sergeant. You’ve got to work with them, listen to them, pay attention to their priorities. I told her, this must be your calling. “Oh yes,” she said, “every morning I wake up eager to get to it.” That was her calling. She has a set of values that others aren’t achieving, but she and this group of people can. I’ve found them impressive.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:26:27]: And those are aspects of the divine. In fact, it turns out she has her own interesting spiritual life. Who would have known, just from giving exercises? People have rich inner lives as well as outer lives. The radically personal is paying attention to that. And one of the bottom lines is that God also is radically personal. God is not a distant, abstract entity, but right here with us, intimately, as we deal with all these decisions and challenges of life.
Scott Langdon [00:27:10]: I’m excited for these new series to roll out. We’re gonna get started next week with episode 253 in this next unit, From God to Jerry to You. I’m excited to hear what you have to bring, Jerry. And I’m always excited to come back again for another What’s on Our Mind. It was great to see you today.
Dr. Jerry L. Martin [00:27:27]: Yeah, good to see you.
Scott Langdon [00:27:16]: Thank you for listening to God: An Autobiography, The Podcast. Subscribe for free today wherever you listen to your podcasts and hear a new episode every week. You can hear the complete dramatic adaptation of God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher by Jerry L. Martin by beginning with Episode 1 of our podcast and listening through its conclusion with Episode 44. You can read the original true story in the book from which this podcast is adapted — God: An Autobiography, As Told to a Philosopher — available now at amazon.com, and always at godanautobiography.com. Pick up your own copy today. If you have any questions about this or any other episode, please email us at questions@godanautobiography.com, and experience the world from God’s perspective — as it was told to a philosopher. This is Scott Langdon. I’ll see you next time.