fbpx

Christian Singer Mandisa: ‘God Has Redeemed [My Life]’

Photo courtesy of Mandisa Instagram

Christian Singer Mandisa: ‘God Has Redeemed [My Life]’

By Movieguide® Contribitor

Grammy award-winning singer Mandisa is opening up about her mental health and the grief she felt after losing a close friend. The popular artist has been very vocal about her emotional struggles, but kept many of the details of her battles private until now.

In a new interview, Mandisa opened up about how her friend’s battle with breast cancer inspired the song and album “Overcomer,” but her death caused Mandisa to spiral.

“The album released before [close friend Keisha] passed away and I was really looking forward to being able to go back out on the road and bring her out and talk about how she overcame this battle with cancer,” Mandisa recently told CBN’s Faithwire. “So when she passed away, it shook the foundation underneath me and I was angry. … I was numb. And then I started to question God.”

Keisha’s death shook Mandisa to her core, as Mandisa fully believed that Keisha would win the battle against cancer. After Keisha died, Mandisa didn’t know how to process her grief.

“I kept it all inside,” Mandisa said, describing her grief. “Before I knew it, I was miserable and hopeless. I didn’t want to be around anybody. I stayed in my house for two years, essentially, just eating and getting worse and worse.”

The singer even considered suicide, but God began to speak to her heart. Now, Mandisa sees how the Lord has empowered her testimony. 

“I’m thankful I didn’t [take my life],” she said, “because I’m able to see now how God has redeemed it. I still wish my friend were here, but I’ve learned how important it is to grieve and to walk with God through things like that.”

The singer shared that the Psalms were particularly helpful to her in her time of need. 

“Look at the Psalms,” she explained. “I mean, you see David one minute talking about how good God is and the next minute saying, ‘I want you to slaughter my enemies,’ and, ‘How could you allow this?’…I have learned how important it is to say these things, because I think we miss the comfort that we get from God when we choose to just stuff it down and not say anything at all.”

Movieguide® previously reported on Mandisa’s mental health journey:

Grammy-award-winning Christian artist Mandisa recently opened up about her mental health struggles in her new book, Out of the Dark: My Journey Through The Shadows To Find God’s Joy. 

“I think there is a lot of shame surrounding depression and feeling like you are less of a Christian if it’s something that you battle with,” Mandisa told CBN. “But as I read the Bible, I see a lot of people who I think struggled with depression, and what I see is God’s compassion.”

The musician’s depression began after losing a close friend to breast cancer several years ago. 

​​”My depression was rooted in disappointment with God,” she explained. 

After returning to Scripture to make some sense of her emotions, Mandisa saw that she was not alone in her feelings of depression. 

“Look at Elijah, who one minute is calling down fire from heavens and defeating the prophets of Baal, and then the next moment sitting by a tree and asking God to let him die,” she explained. “And then I think about David, who is very honest throughout the Psalms about the pain he felt internally, and he was someone God called a man after His own heart.”

By opening her heart up to God, Mandisa says she was able to start healing. 

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.