Discovering Joy in Season Three: The Paradox of Joy and Grief with Jay Y. Kim

We rarely experience pure, unfettered joy. More often, we live with a layered emotional experience—where opposite emotions overlap and muddle together.

Yet, even in these moments, God is with us and understands us.

In this season finale of The Digital Examen, Jay Y. Kim gently guides listeners to embrace the journey of faith as marked by paradox, longing, and the unexpected possibility of joy, even amid life’s greatest disappointments.

Drawing from the life of Teresa of Avila and the ancient story of Abraham and Sarah, Kim explores why our laughter amid disbelief, tears amid relief, and energy amid great love all mark the emotional complexities of being human—and how God is present in it all. This episode is an invitation to trust that one day your laughter of disbelief can be transformed into the laughter of joy.

Stay tuned this August for a special miniseries exploring the five movements of the Prayer of Examen—invitation, gratitude, reflection, confession, and looking forward—with guests like Ann Voskamp, Faith Eury Cho, Ken Shigematsu, and others.

This episode highlights the following themes:

Why joy and grief often go hand-in-handHow paradox shapes authentic faithPermission to feel and express real emotions with GodLinks from this episode:

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