Did I Hear God Wrong? Finding Truth in Pain

Did I Hear God Wrong? Finding Truth in Pain

What drives someone to seek a life of faith when everything seems to fall apart? This conversation on The Call with Nancy Sabato follows Rachel Grohl as she shares a devastating international adoption story and how it shook, stretched, and reshaped her relationship with God. Rachel describes the long, costly process of adopting a little boy named Gideon, only to learn he had been taken and caught up in human trafficking.

The moment she heard, she says, "I fell to my knees, and I just wept." That heartbreak raised the raw question many people in pain ask: did she hear God wrong? As Rachel talks through her grief, anger, and confusion, you'll hear how she learned to bring her most honest emotions to God rather than tidy, surface-level prayers.

She explains how that season changed her understanding of God as a good Father, especially coming from a childhood marked by an absent, alcoholic and abusive dad. Her line, "While I certainly don't believe that God caused the pain... I do believe that God redeems the pain," captures the heart of her story.

The episode also looks at how Rachel’s loss led her to fight for thousands of vulnerable children worldwide, and how she tests what she believes God is saying against the Bible rather than her feelings. She shares why she wrote her devotional "Hearing Jesus" and how simple, context-rich readings can help ordinary people recognise God’s voice. This conversation is for anyone who’s ever prayed hard, stepped out in faith, and then watched everything crash.

If you’ve wondered where God is in the mess, or if you heard Him wrong, this gentle, honest story might help you ask a new question: what might God still be doing with your pain?