There seems to be one question that believers and nonbelievers alike wrestle with throughout their walks of faith: what purpose does suffering serve?
May Young, department chair and associate professor of biblical studies, has spent years exploring the answer.
In her first book, “Walking with God Through the Valley: Recovering the Purpose of Biblical Lament,” to be released in January, Young sets out to do just that.
Having dove headfirst into the world of Old Testament theology throughout her doctorate studies and years teaching, Young has found great solace in the truths of scripture even during seasons of deep grief.
“Most people, when they think about lament, they go, ‘Oh, I’m just so tired of being sad,’” Young said. “Or they almost feel a negative connotation to it instead of recognizing that this is actually a path for greater hope, so that when you’re able to lament and be in the presence of God in this way, in honesty, there’s actually healing and hope.”
Before coming to Taylor, Young spent 11 years working full-time in benefits consulting. Eventually, she would quit this job to focus on her PhD.
During this time, a mentor in her master’s program recommended her to Taylor.
Young began teaching at the university in 2015, but it was long before then that she felt a tug toward this calling.
“I think I felt like the Lord (was) putting it on my heart to do teaching even in high school, which was kind of strange,” Young said. “And I kind of kept it close to my heart because it just seemed a little bit absurd to be telling people that I would do a PhD one day when I didn’t even know what that entailed, so I kind of just took the next step.”
During a time of personal hardship in her family life, the Lord began sowing the seeds of faith that have influenced more than just the metaphorical pages of her story.
Young has experienced the depths of grief, and yet, she’s known the relief that can be found through biblical lament.
She wants others to experience the same gift.
Young’s intent in writing “Walking with God Through the Valley” was to speak from her personal experience with suffering. She felt like resources about faithful lament were not available in the moment she needed it.
“I felt like lament was really healing for me personally, and when I was going through things, I really didn’t hear about lament, to be honest,” she said.
Young’s dissertation was on the book of Lamentations. In studying the book, she became passionate about ministering its truths to those who become easily disoriented in their pain.
Her book can be split into two separate parts. First, Young explores the purpose of biblical lament, and second, she explores several Psalms and their unique focuses as it relates to the idea of lament.
In writing the book, Young considered how she wanted to balance scriptural instruction and personal experience.
“I didn’t want the book to be about me,” she said. “I share snippets as to why this topic is important to me, but it really isn’t about me and my experience.”
The idea for the book has been on Young’s heart for a while now, but it wasn’t until someone introduced her to her editor and they began talking about potential projects that it became a concrete reality.
Along with others reading different chapters of the book throughout the writing process, Young’s publisher sent the manuscript to an Old Testament scholar for feedback.
“I felt like there was just different people speaking into it throughout the whole process,” she said.
Both Young’s contribution to various authors’ works and writing her dissertation served as preparation for a project of this magnitude.
Writing the book was a positive experience, Young said, and she even used part of her sabbatical to complete it.
As she envisions who might pick up her book, Young believes its message will encourage those who are wondering what can be done in their waiting.
“I do want people to realize that it’s a process,” she said. “It’s not a quick fix … Ultimately, it’s moving us to greater hope as well. And it’s not taking us down a spiral of self-pity, which is hopelessness. It’s actually the opposite.”
While many passages of scripture spoke to her while exploring the concept of grief and biblical lament, Young was especially moved by Psalms 42 and 43.
In these chapters, the psalmist provides an example of the oscillating nature of grief, which doesn’t always follow an expected path.
“It’s not a one and done deal,” Young said.
Young is interested not just in her own story of finding God in grief, but in the story that God has written throughout the pages of the Bible.
She hopes her book will help bridge the gap between what scripture says about suffering and how we see it play out in our own lives, leading toward something deeper than relief from pain: true hope in the Lord.
“Walking with God Through the Valley” can be found on Amazon and InterVarsity Press starting Jan. 7, 2025.
