Dr. Liz Hall is a psychologist and professor at Biola who, at 45, was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer — and discovered that her training had barely prepared her for it. She joins Michael to talk about her book When the Journey Hurts, co-written with theologians Kelly Kapic and Jason McMartin, and what a decade of research and lived suffering taught her about meaning, faith, and staying human in the hard middle.

They talk about why the degree to which something threatens our worldview is exactly the degree to which it causes distress. They discuss the "problematic roadmaps" Christians often get handed — vague theology that begins and ends with Romans 8:28, triumphalism that rushes past suffering toward victory, and theodicy that answers a question no one in crisis is actually asking. Liz also describes a study on Ignatian prayer, walking people through twenty moments of Christ's suffering on their phones — and finding that identifying with Christ in suffering drew people closer to God in measurable ways. And they end where you might not expect: with lament, and with Psalm 88, which doesn't resolve.

Support the show

ENGAGE THE RESTORING THE SOUL PODCAST:
- Follow us on YouTube
- Tweet us at @michaeljcusick and @PodcastRTS
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram & Twitter
- Follow Michael on Twitter
- Email us at [email protected] 

Thanks for listening!