Why does God allow us to suffer?
Glenna Marshall spent six years chasing a diagnosis and sixteen years living with a painful autoimmune disease before writing Praying in Pain. In this conversation, she explores this question and walks us through what God has taught her through it all. Glenna talks through the four-part pattern of the biblical lament psalms — cry out, remember, resolve — and how they became her lifeline during sleepless nights of suffering. Glenna opens up about the pride that kept her silent from her church, the tension chronic illness can create in a marriage, and what she's learned about complaining honestly to God instead of everyone else. Listen in for a hard-won perspective on healing, hope, and raising children who've watched a parent suffer well.
02:04 – Glenna describes the onset of her mystery illness at age 29
09:30 – The four-part pattern of lament psalms: cry out, remember, resolve
13:37 – "You don't have to stop complaining — you just have to complain differently"
16:12 – The story of snapping at a friend who complained about a sore back
20:16 – Hiding her flare-up from her church during a leaf-raking outreach
22:36 – The three ways Glenna believes God heals
27:03 – Navigating marriage when one spouse is in chronic pain and the other isn't
31:59 – Glenna's closing word to anyone suffering in isolation
Check out Glenna Marshall's blog: https://www.glennamarshall.com/
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