As an actress, Gwendolyn Briley-Strand was used to playing strong female roles—women of faith and perseverance. But playing a resilient character is far easier than being one in real life. Two rounds of cancer, including exhausting chemotherapy and radiation treatments, reinforced Gwen’s belief that she needed to turn to the healing words of the Bible for her strength.

Nicklis Stevens lost his sister, Lygon, in an avalanche while they were hiking a mountain peak. He then went through the valley of pain asking the difficult question of “Why?” God answered him in beautiful and unexpected ways.

Deanna was over the moon when the pregnancy test was positive. But when genetic testing indicated the little girl growing inside her had Down syndrome, Deanna was certain that God had gotten it all wrong. “There was a storm inside me. I felt like all my dreams were gone,” Deanna said. “My mind went to a very dark place wondering, ‘Why me?’” But God knows what we…

Walk with Marilyn Hontz as she describes how she went from the burden of shame from a childhood incident of sexual abuse to complete freedom in Christ. Her perspective changed when she had a long talk with God, and she realized that Jesus also experienced deep shame on the cross.

When her world of financial security and what she thought was happiness came crashing down, Jennifer Stoll questioned her identity. She turned to the Bible and to prayer for help.

“I needed to cry. No, I needed to weep. Deep, abandoned sobs. What on earth have I done to deserve all this pain?”

Dave Dietz was a man who attended church but really didn’t understand the love of Jesus. After reading a book about truly loving God and people, his eyes were opened and he began caring for people and restoring relationships. Other traumatic events—a job layoff and serious car accident—also changed his outlook.

“God does whatever it takes to get your attention.” For Jon, it was a huge collision he thought would take his life. But he was given a second chance. And although he was a pastor who preached and taught, he had been too comfortable. The accident brought about a new clarity—a refocus—to passionately pursue Jesus and make Him known.