Mourning God: Grieving Loss, Wrestling with God, and Finding Your Way Back to Life | Tiffany Stein

In this episode of The Upwards Podcast, host Tressa Spingler sits down with author and pastor Tiffany Stein for a conversation that goes where the church often doesn't — into the deep, disorienting territory of grief, lament, and the silence of God.Tiffany's new book, Mourning God, was born out of the loss of her infant son David, who lived only 53 days, and the years of secondary infertility and spiritual wrestling that followed. With pastoral tenderness and unflinching honesty, she guides us through what it means to mourn not only our losses — but the God we thought we knew.Together, Tressa and Tiffany explore:What grief really is — including the losses we rarely name (identity, health, dreams, relationships)The concept of secondary grief — mourning the God you thought you knewWhy lament is an act of faith, not a detour from itThe four-part framework of lament: turn, complain, ask, trustThe difference between the wall and the dark night of the soulHow the Psalms give language to grief when our own words failWhat it means to hold joy and sorrow together — and why the church struggles to make space for bothPractical ways to walk with a grieving friend — and how to ask for what you needA vision of resurrection hope as the foundation for enduring lossWe close with the Beatitudes — a moving benediction over every soul in a season of grief. This is a conversation full of compassion, biblical depth, and the kind of hope that is honest enough to hold sorrow alongside it.Resources Mentioned:Mourning God: Grieving Loss, Wrestling with God, and Finding Your Way Back to Life by Tiffany Stein - https://www.navpress.com/p/mourning-god/9781641589833Spotify Playlist inspired by the themes of Mourning God - https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0tzsO1vVNYZAwHX01H3WaA?si=08d1ca13138d44cdThe Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith by Janet Hagberg & Robert GuelichEmotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete ScazzeroWalking with God through Pain and Suffering by Tim KellerScripture references: Psalm 27:13, Psalm 42–43, Psalm 88, Isaiah 53, John 11, Luke 23"You Bring the Morning" — song by Andy SquyresSubscribe to The Upwards Podcast wherever youSend us Fan MailCONNECT WITH USSubscribe to The UpWords Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts and visit slbf.org/studio to learn more about our work at the intersection of faith, the academy, and the marketplace.This episode was created by the SLBF STUDIO at Upper House.Produced by Daniel Johnson and Dave ConourEdited by Dave Conour