Episode 378 - Comfort in the Ashes with Dr. Michelle Keener

The Nothing Is Wasted Podcast

Davey Blackburn and Aubrey Sampson

Religion & Spirituality:christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Christianity

4.9 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What do we do when people fail us in our greatest time of need? How can the church do a better job at entering into people's pain and walking with them in their stories?Dr. Michelle Keener walked through her own season of suffering and eventually found herself deep diving into Biblical research on the book of Job in the Bible through the lens of trauma. It was through her scholarly research that she was able to find principles that applied to her own pain and to the Church at large when it comes to helping trauma survivors. In her book **Comfort in the Ashes: Explorations in the Book of Job to Support Trauma Survivors**, she connects the story of Job-a man who knew incredible trauma and pain-to practical ways individuals and the church can show up in suffering. In this insightful episode, Aubrey sits with Dr. Keener to discuss how we can connect our own personal experiences of trauma to those in scripture, why the church struggles to help those who are hurting, and how the gospel applies to pain. If you've ever needed people to meet you in your pain and didn't find the support available or if you've ever struggled to know how to step into the pain of someone else, this conversation is a gentle reminder of how we can steward each other's stories well as we move through grief and trauma in life and how God is always there to comfort us in the ashes. Website: MichelleKeener.comInstagram: nstagram.com/MKeenerWrites X: x.com/MKeenerWritesBook: Comfort in the Ashes: Explorations in the Book of Job to Support Trauma Survivors https://amzn.to/4iZNufx

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, friends. Just want to interrupt this conversation to see if you're looking for a way to help a friend who is hurting, you having a hard time knowing how to show up and show that you care and whatever pain they're walking through right now.
0:12.4	Listen, we understand, and we've been there. Even though I've walked through my own trauma and painful season, I can still struggle to know how to best enter into the pain of those around me. I'll
0:22.0	never forget the first funeral that I preached after losing my late wife Amanda in 2015. I showed
0:27.6	up and I felt like I was stumbling through, not knowing what to say, because it just is so difficult
0:32.8	to know how, exactly how, to enter into somebody else's pain. In fact, there were so many people
0:39.0	who were well-meaning right after my late wife passed away that they would send me all kinds
0:45.5	of different things. But most of those things, they either filled my house with clutter or
0:52.0	I ended up disposing of them because it just wasn't useful as well-meaning
0:55.5	and well-intentioned as people were. They just, I don't think, knew what to send me. You know,
1:00.0	you want to find that perfect combination of meaningful and thoughtful and practical. And that's
1:07.0	why we've created that nothing-as-wasted restore box. Nothing is wasted restore box is just what you've been looking for as you seek to show support
1:15.6	and love for a friend, a coworker, or a family member who is hurting.
1:19.4	The restore box is a thoughtfully curated gift box that has some of our favorite
1:23.6	resources and reminders from Nothing is Wasted Ministries that will encourage anyone
1:27.3	who is walking through a difficult time. Whether it be lost, a divorce, a lost job, an unexpected
1:33.5	diagnosis, betrayal, or just a season of depression or anxiety, or really any other pain
1:39.7	point for that matter. This box is for when someone you love needs a reminder of hope and that nothing
1:46.2	is wasted in their pain. Each restore box includes a copy of the nothing-as-wasted book,
1:51.9	a copy of the Pain to Purpose devotional, a beautifully crafted scripture pack full of encouraging
1:57.5	verses the nothing-is-wasted anvil paperweight and a nothing-as-wasted wristband.
2:03.4	We know it's hard to step into someone's pain, but we also know the cost of not stepping in is far greater.
2:09.6	You can show you care and offer hope at the same time by sending your friend the restore box.
	...

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