Country Star Heard God’s Voice After Tragedy and Found Her Calling

Published: July 23, 2025

By Mallory Mattingly

Christian and country artist Anne Wilson found her God-given calling after her older brother Jacob’s tragic death.

“It was just so sad and awful, but right after that, I remember hearing the voice of God speak to me very clearly, and He said, ‘Anne, are you going to trust me or are you not?’ And when I heard his voice, I remember thinking to myself, like, I have to make a decision right now in this moment: am I going to trust God, or am I going to lean on my own understanding to get through this whole journey?” Wilson shared on TBN.

“So I turned around, like right after my dad had just told me he passed away, I faced the doors in that room, and I said to Jesus…’Jesus, I trust you,'” the singer recalled. “And in that moment, it was so crazy, like this big weight just lifted off of my shoulders I had been carrying, and I felt this peace, like I knew that I was going to be able to get through this tragedy, that God was going to give me what I needed to push through in the days [ahead].”

Jacob died in a tragic car accident in 2017.

Wilson had never sang in public until her brother’s funeral where she performed “What a Beautiful Name,” a moment that launched her music career.

“I remember hearing God’s voice again right before I started playing the piano [at the funeral], and He said to me, word for word, ‘Anne, this is what I’m calling you to. I’m calling you to praise and worship my name,'” the now award-winning and Grammy-nominated singer told TBN.

When Wilson celebrated her 23rd birthday in February, she released a song dedicated to her brother.

“Today is my 23rd birthday and I can’t help but think of my brother Jacob. He lived 23 beautiful years of life before the Lord called him home. He sure made those years count and I hope to do the same with mine. I wrote this song a couple weeks ago to express all the ways I’m feeling today. I hope you all love it as much as I do❤️‍🩹,” she posted on Instagram.

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A post shared by Anne Wilson (@annewilsonmusic)

She continues to lean on the lessons God taught her through grief as she pens new music. She describes her latest single, “God Story,” as a song for those who have “lived through something that only He could’ve carried you through.”

Wilson sings in the chorus:

My life is a God story
Gotta tell the world what He’s done for me
Miracles on miracles that only He could do
I’m proof that we’re all only
One prayer away from a testimony
Therе’s only One getting all the glory
My wholе life is a — God story

Aside from creating music that honors Christ, Wilson often shares the gospel with her followers on social media.

“God loves us extravagantly. He’s not keeping score, shaking His head when we mess up, withholding His love, or trading it for our good behavior. Christ’s death on the cross for us when we were still sinners exemplifies God’s love for us — the kind of love easily identified by sacrifice and commitment,” she wrote in a July post.