#82: When Suffering Lingers (with K.J. Ramsey)
“Jesus has forever changed what suffering is, so that we do not have to fear these things that linger. By going the ultimate distance he has made every place of human existence & pain a place of his presence.”
K.J. Ramsey is a therapist, writer and the author of This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers. K.J. and I have become good friends over the course of the pandemic, and in this interview we discussed the hope embedded in suffering, the tension between Jesus’ words “All these things and more you will do” and “In this life, you will have troubles”. She shared how stories that include very hard things can also include great hope and love, and how brain science reveals that being still with God in the midst of our suffering is of transformative importance. I cannot recommend her to you highly enough.
Order This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers by K.J. Ramsey
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Pastor, writer and social leader Jonathan Martin returns to the show to explain how the journey that we’re each on is the journey we need to be on. Using the story of the disciples leaving Jerusalem on the road to Emmaus, Jonathan explains that even when we think we’re walking away from God, love finds us on the road. Tryphena and I ask him about the risky nature of doubt, of how granting freedom works as a pastor, and how to be honest about the harm done to us, while holding on to hope that perhaps healing is possible after all. It’s beautiful and raw and real, if you’ve felt at all disillusioned by God or church or the world in the last few years then I commend this to you wholeheartedly.