How do you trust God in seasons of waiting? How do you testify to His faithfulness when the outcome isn’t what you hoped for?

Pastor and author DawnCheré Wilkerson never expected her long journey through infertility to become such a significant part of her story. Yet, as she found herself in an extended season of waiting, God invited her to share honestly about both the pain and the promises she discovered along the way. Though she eventually welcomed four children, DawnCheré encountered a unique beauty available only in seasons of anticipation—and learned that even in the wait, God continually reveals who He is. She captures this experience in her book, Slow Burn: The Work and Wonder of the Wait.

In this conversation, Davey sits down with DawnCheré to discuss how to remain tenderhearted as a leader, how to discern when to begin sharing your story, and how to recognize what God is forming in you during seasons of waiting.

If you’re in a chapter where your heart longs for something yet unseen, this episode will remind you that God is at work in every season—and that there is wonder woven into the wait.

How do you engage with the Word of God when your world is falling apart? What does Scripture offer us in our deepest pain?

Pastor and author David Platt has built his life and ministry on the foundation of God’s Word—through his own personal struggles, challenges, and questions. As an adoptive father, David has witnessed firsthand the power of Scripture in guiding him as he shepherds the hearts of his children through trauma and hurt. As a pastor, he’s experienced the necessity of coming to the Bible with a heart longing for deeper intimacy with Jesus. And as a follower of Christ, he knows it is God’s Word that continually draws him into a fuller understanding of who God is. Out of this passion, David wrote How to Read the Bible: A Simple Guide to Deeper Intimacy with God, to help others engage Scripture in meaningful and transformative ways.

In this episode, Davey talks with David about the call to adoption and what it looks like to lovingly shepherd the hearts of hurting children, why Scripture is indispensable in the life of every believer, and how to respond when God feels absent in seasons of pain.

If you’ve ever wondered why Scripture matters—especially when you’re walking through suffering—this conversation will help you see how foundational God’s Word can be in revealing who He is and sustaining you in your most difficult moments.

How do you hold onto hope while processing new losses after past ones? How do you reconcile the deep suffering you experience in life with the goodness of God?

Ashley Opliger knows these questions well. After losing her daughter, Bridget, to stillbirth, she couldn’t imagine a greater pain. Years later, when her father was killed by a drunk driver, she found herself navigating a new wave of grief layered over the old. Yet, in the midst of heartbreak, Ashley discovered hope and purpose through Bridget’s Cradles, the nonprofit she founded to support families grieving the loss of an infant.

She has also authored Cradled in Hope: Trusting Jesus to Heal Your Heart as He Holds Your Baby in Heaven—a practical guide for mothers walking through similar sorrow. In her book, Ashley shares her story and offers compassionate guidance for finding healing and faith after loss.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Ashley to talk about making sense of what feels like senseless suffering, learning to surrender our pain to God, and holding the tension between mercy and justice when we’ve been deeply hurt by others’ actions.

If you’ve ever faced a new grief after a profound past loss, this conversation will remind you that God continues to cradle you in hope—even in the midst of each new pain that comes your way.

How do you begin to heal after facing every parent’s worst imaginable nightmare — the loss of a child? And how can a marriage withstand, and even grow, through such profound grief?

Amber Smith’s life appeared picture-perfect. Married to country music artist Granger Smith, she was a mother to three young children, living what many would consider a dream. But in an instant, that dream shattered. While playing outside with his siblings and father, Amber and Granger’s three-year-old son, River, was found unresponsive in the family’s pool. He later passed away. The heartbreak was unimaginable, and the path to healing—both individually and as a couple—was long, painful, and complex.

In the wake of their loss, Amber and Granger began a new journey—a calling toward ministry and helping others find hope in the midst of their pain. Yet, the road has been anything but easy.

Amber’s new book, The Girl on the Bathroom Floor: Held Together When Everything is Falling Apart, chronicles her journey of encountering God in the depths of grief and learning to take steps forward after unspeakable sorrow.

In this powerful conversation, Davey and Amber discuss the role of lament in processing pain, how to be present for others walking through deep suffering, and how to navigate the guilt that often follows tragedy.

If you or someone you love has experienced the loss of a child, this episode offers a message of hope—that even when everything feels like it’s falling apart, there is a God who holds you through the pain.

How do we hold on to hope when life is filled with pain and disappointment? What role can prayer play in our suffering as we learn to cling to hope?

Sally Breedlove and Willa Kane became friends through a shared commitment to prayer during a season marked by uncertainty. In 2020, as the world faced the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, they felt led to invite others into daily rhythms of prayer—and thus, Eighth Day Prayers was born. The name "Eighth Day" reflects the day of Jesus’ resurrection, symbolizing the invitation to live into the hope of Christ. What began as a simple practice during a global crisis grew into a ministry that continues through their three-book series, Eighth Day Prayers, which follows the liturgical calendar and invites readers into a life of rhythmic, intentional prayer.

Through their personal journeys of suffering—including the loss of a grandchild, the death of a parent by suicide, significant health diagnoses, and challenges in business—Sally and Willa have found prayer to be a steadying force, grounding them in hope and anchoring their walk with Jesus.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Sally and Willa to discuss the simplicity and depth of prayer, how it sustains us in seasons of deep pain, and why it remains a vital part of our spiritual formation.

If you’ve ever wrestled with the tension between hope and heartbreak, this conversation offers encouragement and perspective, reminding us that God can hold our hardest emotions and invites us into an honest, ongoing dialogue with Him through prayer.

How do we begin to help young children understand loss? What can we do to help little ones grieve while we are walking through it alongside them?

For author, speaker, and podcaster Annie F. Downs, these questions became real when her infant nephew, TJ, passed away from a severe medical condition less than two months after he was born. Wanting to help her sister, Tatum Green, and her young son, Sam, process through this loss, Annie did what she was uniquely gifted to do. She wrote Sam a book to help him as he tried to grasp the loss of his little brother. Once it was written, Annie and Tatum knew that this book needed to be offered to other families beyond theirs who were trying to figure out through how to walk young kids through unimaginable losses and so together, they created the final version, “Where did TJ Go? A Book for Kids on Grief and Loss”. In it, they help children ask the hard questions that can come when they lose someone they love and find hope through the Gospel.

In this honest conversation, Davey sits with Annie and Tatum to talk about how a loss impacts a whole family, the best ways we can show up for those we love in their grief, and what we learn about the mystery of God through the rawness of our struggles and questions.

If you or someone you love is trying to navigate how to guide a young child through loss, this episode will encourage you that while it can be hard and difficult, simply giving kids the space to ask tough questions and talk about what they are feeling is the first step in walking them through the pain of grief and finding hope along the way.