When loss hits hard or life falls apart, the silence of God can feel deafening. Where is God when you are grieving a loss, a relationship, or a season of your life—and why does it feel like He isn't answering?

On this episode of the Gird Up Podcast, host Charlie Ungemach sits down with Pastors Josh Rathje (Crown of Life, Fort Myers, FL) and Mike Cherney (Truth in Love Ministry & co-host of Graveyard Shift Gospel). Together, the trio tackles three major areas hitting young Christians today: navigating the heavy silence of God in seasons of grief, refuting a viral atheist critique regarding heaven and human identity, and finding daily security in Martin Luther's picture of Baptism as an unbreakable ship.

The conversation opens with a deep pastor's look into suffering and loss. The guys explain why God is never truly silent where He has bound Himself to speak—in His Word and Sacraments—and how the Psalms of lament teach Christians to pray faithfully through periods of waiting. Moving from personal trials to cultural apologetics, they break down a viral social media clip claiming you can't be happy in heaven if loved ones are in hell, exposing the logical fallacies of the atheist argument and demonstrating how true human identity is restored in Christ. Finally, they close in the Large Catechism, reflecting on Martin Luther’s reminder that while we may slip and fall into sin, the ship of Baptism never breaks because it rests entirely on God's objective promise.

Pastor Josh

Church: https://crownlifelutheran.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrathje10/

Pastor Mike

TILM: https://tilm.org/

Graveyard Shift Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6LBKNpQCyLMG5TrJbOH7Y9?si=8bf9b793c922402e

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikeaftermike/

Gird Up

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girdup_podcast/

Website: https://www.girdupministries.com/