The Christian life, from one angle, is the long journey of letting our natural assumption about who God is, over many decades, fall away, being slowly replaced with God’s own insistence on who he is.
Dane Ortlund
I’m writing my first book.
And honestly, it’s an intimidating process to get a book traditionally published. Ever since I was thirteen and making a bucket list for my Y2K time capsule (I see you millennials!), I’ve dreamed of being a published author. The vision for this particular book began in 2018 when my first child, David, passed away.
David spent all fifty-three days of his precious life in the NICU, but as harrowing as those two months were, they weren’t the most painful part. The most painful part was the nine months after David died during which I felt abandoned by God. God had had felt so present, so near, during David’s life. And suddenly, he felt absent. I couldn’t hear God, feel him, or see him. Where was God’s promised lovingkindness? Where was his comfort? Where was the God I thought I knew? I needed him to show up.
For the past five years, I’ve been living and working out the message of Mourning God. In my writing, speaking, journals, prayers, and conversations, I’ve been creating, testing, and refining the content. And now it’s time to share the comfort I’ve received from God with you in book form (2 Cor. 1:3-4).
If after experiencing a loss, you find yourself disoriented, disappointed, frustrated, isolated, disillusioned, hopeless, and questioning everything about the God you thought you knew, you’re in good company. Together, we’ll explore the invitation for you to move through mourning the God you thought you knew to intimately knowing the God who loves, comforts, walks, and weeps with you—the God who draws near.
Mourning God:
Meeting the God of Comfort
What do you do when suffering strikes, your feel-good faith fails, and God deeply disappoints you? Who do you turn to when the God who is supposed to comfort you in the valley of the shadow of death doesn’t seem to be walking with you?
Tiffany knows that pain all too well. An ordained pastor, she preaches the goodness, nearness, and love of God. However, when Tiffany left the NICU for the final time, she lost both her infant son and the God she thought she knew. Tiffany expected to mourn the death of David, but the sense of abandonment she felt by God blindsided her. When she needed him most, where was the God she thought she knew?
With vulnerability, humor, and more than a decade of pastoral counseling experience, Tiffany serves as a trusted guide through the messy and disorienting process of wrestling with God in seasons of suffering. You’re invited to journey through mourning the God you thought you knew to knowing more clearly the God who loves, comforts, walks, and weeps with you.
In the hands of God, nothing is wasted. Your sorrow and pain can be redeemed, produce a vibrant hope that never fails, and introduce you to the God who is—the God who is so much bigger and better than you ever dared imagine him to be.
RAVE REVIEW
Perhaps the most beautiful and bottomless theological project humans ever face is discovering the God who is, and separating him from the God we imagine. Nothing aids that divination like suffering, and out of her own suffering Tiffany Stein has a deeply personal lesson for every person of faith. Because we all suffer, we need grace. Because we all misunderstand God, we need truth. Tiffany is a guide to help us find the God of grace and truth in a world of hurt. Listen to her.
Ryan Sanders
commentary editor at The Dallas Morning News
RAVE REVIEW
In her excellent book, Mourning God, Stein probes the hard questions many Christians hesitate to ask about grief. She charts a biblically sound path forward to a richer, stronger faith—one that sees the God who is, who loves with an undying love. A must read for pastors and those desiring a deeper walk with God.
Dr. Lynn Cohick
director of Houston Theological Seminary and distinguished professor of New Testament
RAVE REVIEW
Having the privilege of knowing Tiffany, I can confidently say that she doesn’t just write about this topic; she lives it. Tiffany has not only intellectually learned about grief, suffering, and reorienting her view of our gracious and loving God, she has applied it to her life and the lives of others. If you’ve ever struggled with your view of God, particularly in the midst of pain, please read Tiffany’s work. She writes with a shepherd’s heart, a scholar’s wisdom, and a deep conviction of the goodness of God.
Tory Mayo
senior pastor at The Well Austin