Recent surveys show half of Americans believe God chooses not to intervene in suffering because it’s “part of a larger plan,” but that doesn’t always make sense of the pain — much less ease it.
Few books address pain and suffering as poignantly as the book of Job. But understanding those Old Testament passages, which combine narrative framing and Hebrew poetry, can be difficult.
Evangelist and author Autumn Miles joined CBN’s “Faith in Culture” Podcast, where she discussed her new book, “Holy Ghosted: What Job’s Pain Teaches Us About Surviving Spiritual Silence,” and offered practical ways to understand Job’s story.
Below are a few powerful quotes from our conversation with Autumn.
On why the church needs to address suffering:
The world has kind of coined this narrative on God. God is mean because why would a good God, why would a kind God, a nice God, a loving God allow bad things to happen to innocent good people? And the world uses that as a justification to leave God. And it works.
On why God’s silence is intentional:
I believe that God wanted to gift Job with himself. A greater version of himself that Job had not experienced yet.
On Job being famous in heaven:
Job was famous in heaven. … God knew his name. Satan knew his name. And everyone that was in that throne room knew exactly who God was talking about when [the Lord] said, “Have you considered my servant, Job?”
On how God really answers prayer:
God, a lot of times, doesn’t answer us, “Yes, no, or wait.” A lot of times he answers us not with what our mouth asks, but with what our soul is craving.
On Job setting a precedent on suffering:
God was setting a precedent. I do allow my people to suffer. Before we even have the law, God is saying, I do allow this. And you need to know this so that you can navigate these hard seasons that will come in your life.
On leaning into God in hard times:
A lot of people want to lean away from God in relief because this faith thing is just too hard and God is not answering. You do get temporary relief. That’s why you see so many people deconstructing their faith. But actually we need to lean into God for revelation.
On God’s unchanging character through trials:
God’s character does not ever change. During my season of silence, I had to train my mind to remember his character is good no matter if what I’m facing is bad.
We hope you find our conversation with Autumn encouraging and challenging. If you’re walking through a particularly difficult season in life, seek the face of God, find godly community, and call on the promises of Scripture.
“But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last.” — Job 19:25 (NLT)
