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In this episode, Ashley vulnerably shares how spiritual warfare often intensifies in the wake of pregnancy and infant loss. Centered on Chapter 9 of Cradled in Hope, “The Good Fight: When You Encounter the Enemy’s Attacks,” she recounts her own season of darkness on bedrest with Bridget—and the moment she voiced aloud, “Nothing good will ever come from this.” In that valley of isolation, fear, and pain, Ashley came to understand how the enemy targets grieving moms with lies meant to destroy their hope and faith.

Through personal testimony and biblical truth, Ashley exposes the enemy’s tactics: sowing lies about God’s goodness, confusing us with counterfeit answers, and isolating us when we are already hurting. But she also shares how we can fight back—with Scripture, discernment, and the full armor of God. This episode is both a warning and an encouragement to moms walking through spiritual battle in grief.

In this episode, Ashley shared:

• The types of lies the enemy speaks to grieving moms—and how to recognize his tactics
• How isolation and pain make grieving moms especially vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks
• A biblical understanding of how Satan schemes to steal, kill, and destroy in seasons of suffering
• The truth that our fight is not against flesh and blood, and how the armor of God equips us to stand
• A breakdown of the “rotten seeds” the enemy plants and the “spoiled fruit” they produce
• A side-by-side comparison of God’s voice versus the enemy’s voice

Ashley reminds us that while the enemy is cunning, Jesus is our Shepherd—and when we listen closely for His voice, we will be led into truth, peace, and hope.

Journaling Prompt
What lies has the enemy been whispering to you in your grief? Write them down, then go to Scripture and replace each one with truth.

Healing Step
Choose a verse from this chapter that stands out to you. Write it on a notecard or sticky note and place it somewhere visible. Speak it out loud daily this week to remind yourself of who you are and what’s true.

Full transcript below.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Ashley Opliger: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Cradled in Hope Podcast Book Club.

I’m your host, Ashley Opliger—grieving mom, author of Cradled in Hope, and founder of Bridget’s Cradles. I’m so honored to walk with you through my book, one chapter at a time, as we navigate the heartbreak of losing a baby together.

After my daughter Bridget went to Heaven at 24 weeks, I wrestled with deep sadness and complex questions about God’s goodness. But through that grief, Jesus showed me that He not only cradles our babies in Heaven, He also holds our broken hearts here on earth.

Whether you’re reading along or simply listening in, this is a safe space for your sorrow—a place where your tears, questions, and raw emotions are welcome. Each episode, we’ll reflect on a chapter of Cradled in Hope and gently walk together from heartbreak to healing, and from pain to purpose.

My prayer is that this podcast will remind you that you are not alone in your grief and, most importantly, that it will point you to Jesus, the only One who can truly heal your heart. Through faith in Him, there is hope to see your baby again, and He will be with you every step from here to Heaven.

So wherever you are in your journey, I invite you to join me—and together, we will grieve with hope.

Let’s begin.

Ashley Opliger: [00:01:23] Hi friends. Welcome back. Today, we are diving into Chapter Nine, The Good Fight: When You Encounter the Enemy’s Attacks. 

[00:01:29] This chapter is about the enemy and the spiritual warfare that we experience as we are navigating the trauma, pain, and loss of a baby. Let’s start by focusing on the key passage from the chapter. Today’s passage comes from 1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

[00:01:57] As you can hear, it says, “Fight the good fight of the faith,” and that is why this chapter is titled The Good Fight, because it is a fight. And it’s a good fight because it’s worth fighting. And it’s important to understand when we are grieving that the enemy is after us, and the enemy will use the loss of your baby to try to distract and destroy your life in so many ways. And that’s what we’re going to be talking about in this episode.

[00:02:24] I start this chapter with a very vulnerable story, and I’m going to give you the high-level version of this. If you’re just tuning in and you haven’t been listening to all of these episodes, these episodes are a high-level view of each chapter. I hope that you’re reading along so that you can dive deeper into the content that we’re talking about today. 

[00:02:45] I share this very vulnerable story about when I was on bed rest with Bridget and I had pregnancy complications. I was on medical leave from work. I had a subchorionic hemorrhage that was growing into a placental abruption, and I spent all of my days in bed.

[00:03:00] I basically, for 11 weeks, stayed in bed or on the couch. The only time that I would get up would be to go to the bathroom to change my pad. I know that’s very TMI, but that was the reality of the situation. I was bleeding daily, and so in the midst of this, I was very alone and isolated. 

[00:03:16] My husband was going to work every day. My friends and family were at work. And so I was at home by myself, worried about my daughter, praying that there would be a miracle, but going to all these doctor’s appointments and finding out more and more bad news, that the hemorrhage was growing larger, that she was becoming further growth-restricted because of the hemorrhage. And it was a very dark time in my faith, if I’m being honest with you, I felt very abandoned by God.

[00:03:41] I felt as though He was not answering my prayers. I did not feel His presence in those moments, at the time. Looking back on it, I see that He had never left my side and that He was with me every single day. But it took me coming out of that season for me to really experience that. 

And so one day during my days on bed rest, I was getting up out of bed to go to the bathroom, and I stood up, and I remember just in the darkness of the room declaring out loud, I said, “Nothing good will ever come from this,” because that’s what I felt in my heart. 

[00:04:10] I said, it’s as though I needed to proclaim that to God and say, “I don’t see what You’re doing here. I don’t understand why You’re allowing this. I’m very upset and hurt that You’re allowing this in my life, and I don’t feel You with me, and I don’t see what good will come from this.”

[00:04:28] Now, if you know my story and if you’ve followed along in the ministry, you know that God has brought so much good from Bridget’s life and from my pain, but at the moment, I could not see that. 

Oftentimes when we’re going through a very difficult trial, we’re walking through grief, it’s as though we have this blinder in front of us that we can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can’t see how God might use it for good. We feel very trapped. 

[00:04:51] And I think the enemy wants to keep us in that darkness so that we can’t see beyond our circumstances. And that is certainly how I felt in the midst of my days on bed rest. I felt very alone. 

[00:05:10] And when we’re in a place where we’re alone and we don’t have a community around us, it wasn’t that I didn’t have a good support system, family and friends that love me and cared for me and my husband that was being supportive throughout my days on bed rest. But the nature of bed rest was that I was alone for a good portion of the day by myself, and I was very sad and lonely. And the enemy is going to use those times in your life to further isolate you.

[00:05:31] If you think about how the Bible describes Satan, the enemy, Lucifer, there are many names that we can call him, it describes him like a lion. And Peter specifically warns us that, “Our adversary, the devil, is like a roaring lion, always seeking whom he may devour,” 1 Peter, 5:8. 

[00:05:50] If you think about a lion, they will often go after the prey that is weak, wounded, or isolated. That’s why most herd animals will stay with their herd, because they know if they go off by themselves, they are a target for predators. And the enemy is the same way. He sees a grieving mom as an easy victim. 

[00:06:12] Because if you think about it from his sick and twisted perspective, he sees us as an opportunity of: Your faith might be weak right now. You might be questioning and doubting God, questioning His character, doubting that He’s real, wondering about why He would allow this to happen. You’re feeling forsaken, you’re feeling abandoned. You have all these big questions, and you’re sad and you feel hopeless, and that is a prime time to come in and attack. And the enemy is not above doing that. That is how evil he is.

[00:06:46] And so I really had to understand that being in a season of grief and going through trials is the prime setup for the enemy to wreak chaos. And so when I was writing this chapter and including an entire chapter on Satan, essentially, in my book, I felt a little weird about it, to be honest. 

[00:07:07] Because I’m like, “It’s not that I’m dedicating this chapter to Satan, but I’m really wanting to expose him, and I’m really hoping that this chapter will allow you to self-reflect and see how the enemy wants to use the loss of your baby to cause destruction, devastation, hopelessness, to essentially wreck your faith.” 

[00:07:31] And so we know that Jesus told us that, “The thief,” referring to Satan, “comes only to steal and kill and destroy.” That’s in John 10:10. And so when I think of it from Satan’s mission for grieving moms is that he wants to steal her joy, kill her relationships with God and others, destroy her life and hope for the future. 

[00:07:50] And in my book, after I lay that out and explain what I think Satan wants to do in the midst of grief, I give a list of how he tries to achieve those goals. And I can’t read all of them, I want you to go read this on page 159. But I’m going to give you a couple of examples because I think it will really resonate with you. 

[00:08:08] But he’s going to try to “make you believe that God is not good and that He has abandoned you. He’s going to confuse you about God’s character and cause you to doubt Him. He’s going to twist God’s Word to lead you astray. He’s going to tempt you to turn to sin and worldly coping mechanisms to heal your heart, and he’s going to cause tension in your marriage and relationships and isolate and disconnect you from the body of Christ.”

[00:08:32] I have many more examples in my book, and I think you’ll find that many of those tactics he is probably using on you right now. And it’s really important to self-reflect and think about that and see this battle that’s waging in the middle of your grief, that yes, there is a very real enemy. 

Paul tells us that “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly realms.”

[00:09:03] So yes, there is a very real enemy, and this chapter is calling him out and saying, “Yes, we recognize that there are spiritual tactics involved in the midst of our grief.” 

Because if you think about it, he might be thinking, “This is it. This is the prime time to finally destroy this woman’s faith.” And it’s such an awful thing to say, but that’s what the enemy does. That’s what he wants to do. 

[00:09:28] He is in complete disobedience to God, and he is trying to turn souls away from God. He is very crafty and conniving how he does this in how he deceives and manipulates. And so often the enemy will try to give us answers to our questions. 

[00:09:46] We might be questioning, “Why did this happen to me?” I’ve talked to you throughout the past episodes about my explanation as to why a good God would allow babies to die and how there is brokenness in this world and in our bodies. But Satan’s going to give us counterfeit answers to these questions that we ask. 

[00:10:08] For example, Satan is going to speak condemnation over us. He might say, “You did this to your baby. You caused your baby to die.” We know that is not of the Lord, that there is no condemnation in Jesus. And so we know that that’s not coming from God in His voice. 

[00:10:19] Or he might say, “God did this to you. God must not be good. God has forsaken you. God’s punishing you.” Again, that’s the voice of the enemy. 

And so I have a chart in my book where it talks about the rotten seeds that the enemy tries to plant and how those rotten seeds will produce spoiled fruit. So you can go take a look at this on page 160, but some of the rotten seeds might be confusion, doubt, condemnation, and the spoiled fruit that comes from that would be guilt, regret, resentment, shame, anxiety, and so on. There’s more listed. You can go check that out.

[00:10:55] But the idea here is that those things are not from God. We know that God always speaks love, grace, and hope over us. And so whenever God puts good seeds in our hearts, we then bear the fruit of the Spirit, which the Bible says is “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” Galatians 5:22-23, 

[00:11:23] And so we can really determine the source of the seeds based on the fruit that it produces. So seeds of confusion and temptation and fear, those are going to produce a very different fruit. That’s going to produce anxiety and depression and a negative attitude, whereas the seeds that the Lord will put in your heart are going to produce the fruits of the Spirit. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:11:46] We hope you’re finding encouragement in this episode so far. We want to take a moment to share some resources our ministry offers to support grieving moms like you.

On our website, bridgetscradles.com, you’ll learn more about our nonprofit and find many hope-filled resources, including free e-books to help you plan a memorial or funeral service for your baby, meaningful ways to honor your baby in your heart and home, and gentle guidance for navigating difficult days like due dates, Heaven Days, and holidays.

We invite you to join our community of grieving moms through our Christ-centered support groups, offered both in-person at our headquarters near Wichita, Kansas, and virtually through Hope Online. These gatherings provide a place to find comfort, connection, and biblical hope alongside other moms who understand your pain.

You can view upcoming dates and sign up on our website. While you’re there, we’d also be honored for you to share your baby’s story with us.

For ongoing support, we welcome you to join our private Cradled in Hope Facebook group—a safe space for grieving moms to find friendship and walk their healing journey together.

To stay connected with us and receive faith-filled encouragement, follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @bridgetscradles, @cradledinhope, and my personal page @ashleyopliger. 

Now, let’s get back to the episode.

Ashley Opliger: [00:13:05] I talk about how this is a battle. We are at war with the enemy. And it’s important to know how he works, to reflect on the things that he’s doing, the tactics that he’s using against you, and then to “put on the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes.” This is Ephesians 6:10-11.

[00:13:26] Many of you already know what the Armor of God is, but I’m going to share it with you. And again, this is in Ephesians, but the armor is meant to protect us and defend us from the enemy’s schemes. 

And so the armor of God is the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the Gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit. And the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God, and it’s actually the only piece of armor that’s mentioned that is both a defensive and an offensive weapon. 

And if you haven’t downloaded the Cradled in Hope Guided Journal yet, there is a digital version on my author website, AshleyOpliger.com/Journal. You can download it for free. We have a really nice visual of the armor of God that you can fill in there. 

[00:14:15] Also, there is a printed version coming on Amazon very soon. So check back, make sure you’re on our email list, and you’ll be notified when that comes available. But it’s essentially a printed version of the Guided Journal, so you can be writing down your answers throughout as you’re walking through this book. 

But one of the things that I talk about in this chapter is: How do we navigate all of these attacks? We know we need the armor of God to protect us and defend us, but how do we really know what is of God and what is of the enemy? 

[00:14:48] Because the enemy is so good sometimes in just twisting Scripture just enough, or planting these little seeds and lies in our minds to distract us and distort God’s Word and make us mistrust Him. 

[00:15:00] And so I talk a lot about how Jesus is our Good Shepherd, and Jesus says, “My sheep listen to My voice. I know them and they follow Me.” And I really want to tune into the part where it says, “My sheep listen to My voice,” and this is in John 10, which is the same chapter in which Jesus was warning us about the enemy coming as a thief. He’s talking about how we need to know the Shepherd’s voice. 

[00:15:28] Think about it from a sheep’s perspective. They spend all this time with their shepherd. They’ve watched the shepherd protect them from predators, get them out of the way of storms. They see that their shepherd is leading them to green pastures where they can graze. They’re leading the flock to fresh water sources. 

[00:15:54] And so the sheep trust the shepherd because they have watched the shepherd protecting them and loving them and providing for their needs. And so they listen to His voice and they become very accustomed to His voice because they spend so much time with the shepherd. 

Throughout this chapter, I talk about David, one of the most prominent shepherds in the Bible, and all the different things that David did to protect his sheep. And I use this analogy to describe how we should trust Jesus and get to know His voice by spending time with Him so that we follow Him and we know His voice and we can figure out when it’s not His voice.

[00:16:25] And I have a chart on page 163. It’s a side-by-side comparison of God’s voice versus the enemy’s voice. So God’s voice calms, whereas the enemy’s voice worries, God’s voice comforts, whereas the enemy’s voice controls. God’s voice convicts, whereas the enemy’s voice condemns or shames. 

[00:16:45] And it goes on. There’s quite a few more examples in that chart. And that’s just a way for you to understand, when a thought comes into your mind, or maybe it’s something that someone says to you or you read it on social media, it’s a way for you to discern. Is this from God? Is this something that I should allow to ruminate in my thoughts and to lead and guide me in my grief journey?

[00:17:07] Or is this the enemy seeking to wreak havoc in my life and cause me to doubt God and to try to destroy my faith? And there are multiple questions that you can ask yourself to determine if a message is from God or the enemy.

[00:17:22] I have a list in my book here. I ask these simple questions: “Does it align with Scripture? Is it characteristic of God’s nature? What is it leading me to do? Is it bringing me closer to God or pulling me further from Him?” 

And really, then, once we’ve determined that we really want to combat those lies with truth. And we get that truth from the Scripture. And I have another chart. This chapter has a lot of charts. I know I keep saying that, but I want you to go look at all of these, because I feel as though the chart layout is helpful for you to visualize the content in that way.

[00:17:58] I have one that has the thoughts and lies that you might be believing, and then next to it, the truth and where that truth comes from in Scripture.

[00:18:06] An example that I have here is the thought or the lie is, “God must be punishing me. He abandoned me and He doesn’t love me,” whereas the truth is God is with me. He hasn’t left me. God loves me.” Scripture supports this. God has said, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5.

[00:18:28] And so whatever it is for you, you might have a different thought or lie that the enemy has planted, and you might want to journal these things down so you can really make your own chart of these thoughts and lies. 

And we have that in the Guided Journal for you to do, but essentially, figure out what it is that is being planted in your mind, and then combat that with the truth. And where do you get that truth in the Bible? And put a Bible verse there to remind yourself of the truth and combat the lies of the enemy with the truth of God’s Word. 

[00:19:00] So I want to go ahead now and give you the Time With Jesus prompt, which is exactly what I just shared with you, which was to identify a lie of the enemy you’ve been believing and reject it in Jesus’ Name.

[00:19:13] Fill out the chart in your Cradled in Hope Guided Journal to claim God’s truth over the lie. There is a chart for you to fill out in your Guided Journal. As I mentioned, there’s a free digital one on my author website. There’s a printed version coming soon on Amazon. But go ahead and think about that and write out the truth.

[00:19:33] The next one that I want you to do is I want you to fill out the Armor of God chart in that Guided Journal. Write down each piece of armor and imagine yourself being covered in it, protected from the enemy. 

[00:19:45] I now want to close us in prayer. 

Jesus, thank You so much for defeating the enemy. Although the devil has all of his schemes and he’s going to try very hard in the midst of our grief to do what he does best, which is to steal, kill, and destroy, we know that You are more powerful, that we will follow Your voice because You are our Shepherd, and we will learn to trust and follow Your voice because You are good and You are leading us beside still waters.

[00:20:13] And so Jesus, in the midst of this spiritual warfare, we are under attack in the midst of our grief. The enemy wants to isolate us and to cause us to doubt and to condemn ourselves. He wants us to doubt You, Lord, and to condemn ourselves; He wants to just wreak havoc in our lives. 

God, I pray that You would give us wisdom and conviction to know the enemy’s voice from Your own voice, that we would know the difference, that we would reflect on the lies and the rotten seeds that are being planted in our minds, and that we would combat that with the truth of your Word, that You would allow us to put on the full armor of God to protect us from these schemes, for us to identify these lies and all of these attacks on us in the midst of our grief, Lord, that You would guide us, that You would provide for us, and that You would comfort us in the midst of our sadness.

[00:21:07] Give us healthy biblical ways to find healing and teach us to discern Your voice from the lies of the enemy. We thank You for being our Good Shepherd. We will follow You where You lead us. Amen. 

Ashley Opliger: [00:21:21] Be sure to tune in for the next episode, which will cover Chapter Ten, A Renewed Mind: When You Are Anxious or Triggered.

Ashley Opliger: [00:21:29] Thank you for joining me for today’s episode of the Cradled in Hope Podcast Book Club.

New episodes covering each chapter of the book will release on the 1st, 15th, and 22nd of each month through the end of the year—so be sure to subscribe and follow along.

If you don’t have your copy of Cradled in Hope, you can find it wherever books are sold. It’s a biblical guide for grieving moms after miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant loss—filled with vulnerable emotion, biblical wisdom, practical guidance, and hope-filled encouragement.

To accompany the book, I’ve also created the Cradled in Hope Guided Journal—a beautiful companion that includes space to write your responses to the discussion questions, full Scripture passages from each chapter, and additional reflection pages and guided charts to help you process your grief and draw you closer to Jesus. You can download the free digital version on my author website at AshleyOpliger.com/Journal, or order the printed version on Amazon if you prefer to write by hand.

Until next time, know that you are not alone. You are seen, loved, and Cradled in Hope.