Can God Use Suffering? Former Country Singer Says Yes
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former country singer Granger Smith is reflecting on the value of suffering and how God uses it to mold us.
“We would never say, ‘I love Jesus because He protects me and He keeps me from everything.’ Just look around you. This world is full of suffering,” Smith said during an episode of the “Highly Unlikely” podcast.
Smith emphasized, “The Bible just says that He crushes His people but for their good.”
“A football team that wins the Super Bowl — the guy holds the trophy in the end and cries with joy to hold up the trophy, not because they had the perfect season, but because of the imperfect season…he finally holds the trophy because of the suffering,” he concluded. “So, that’s how God operates with us.”
Smith also touched on his own suffering, and how his son’s tragic death led to his strengthened faith.
“I felt overwhelmingly loved, redeemed, restored, forgiven,” he recalled of a moment when he felt God’s presence. “Jesus [said], ‘You are guilty. Come to me…I restore you, not from anything you are, but because of my divine right and what I did on the cross.”
Smith’s 3-year-old son River died in 2019 after a drowning accident, and his grief caused Smith to consider taking his own life.
“I thought of my children, Lincoln and London, the ones that I had. I lost my son River,” he told Fox News. “I had Lincoln and London, and I saw their faces, and during a moment when I just wanted to end my life, I thought about them. And there was such a radiance of joy.”
Smith continued, “God’s gift to me was them, and to know that they needed me as a father was a powerful understanding.”
Smith explores those themes in his most recent book, “Up Toward the Light.”
He called it “a story of processing” loss and the fragility of life.
“It’s a kids book, but I think it could be helpful for kids and parents alike,” Smith explained. “Processing these thoughts about our own mortality, and what is a helpful way to think about loss. Maybe this particular story, [it’s] about a boy losing his grandpa, and he has a conversation with a tree, a very wise tree, and I hope it could be helpful for you…I think this is gonna be an important project for me, so that we could all stop worrying about what’s down below and start realizing that we have to be moving up toward the light.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Smith’s faith:
Former country singer turned pastor Granger Smith joined Kirk Cameron on TBN to discuss the death of his son, River, and how he found God amid the grief.
“I believe that the amount of grief that you have will always equal the love that you had for that person,” Smith explained when asked if he ever asks God why his son died. “So, if you love a lot, then you’re going to grieve a lot. I struggle a little bit with comparing grief because maybe someone will never go through a loss of a child, but we will all go through it at some point, and early on, by the way, I was a cultural Christian.”
“I wasn’t saved,” he continued. “I thought I was during this time when we lost River, but during that time, I did have a feeling early on that perhaps it’s not the right prayer to only pray for what we wanted — healing and revive this child and give us peace right now. Instead maybe I should be praying for God’s will — God’s purpose — so that I could move forward and take the next steps according to what He needs for me, not what I want. That thought alone will start to eliminate the question of ‘Why, God?’”
