In the next month, I kept on saying to my wife over and over again, you know, I don't know how anybody could survive something like this if they didn't believe in the sovereignty of God, or if they didn't know about God's daily grace, or if they didn't know about the empathy of God, or about the presence of God, or have the hope of heaven, or believe in the second coming of Christ.

And ultimately, like, I was citing doctrines, I was citing biblical truths that I was finding to be absolutely essential to surviving.

Welcome to the Crossway podcast, a show where we sit down with authors each week for thoughtful

interviews about the Bible, theology, church history, and the Christian

life.

I'm Matt Tully, and today I'm talking with Cameron Cole.

Cameron serves as Director of Youth Ministries at the Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham,

Alabama, and is the chairman of Rooted, a ministry dedicated to fostering gospel-centered

student ministry.

He's also the author of, Therefore I Have Hope, Twelve Truths that Comfort, Sustain,

and Redeem in Tragedy from Crossway.

Today, Cameron and I discuss the unexpected death of his three-year-old son, Cam.

He shares about the initial shock when he first heard the terrible news,

recalls the thoughts and questions that filled his mind

in the days, weeks, and months following,

and reflects on how that tragedy and all the suffering that it entailed

has ultimately strengthened his hope in God rather than destroyed it.

Let's get started.

Well, Cameron, thank you so much for joining me today on the Crossway podcast.

Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.

So in November of 2013, something happened to you and your family and something that you called your worst nightmare.

But before we get into that, I would love for you to tell us a little bit about your family at that

...