Danny Gokey Explains How to Find Freedom After Tragedy
By Movieguide® Contributor
After suffering immeasurable grief through the death of his wife at a young age, Danny Gokey explained why he stuck with Christ and how his faith allowed him to move on.
“We have such limited understanding,” Gokey told Kirk Cameron. “This is why when you don’t understand something, always stay on God’s side. Like the disciples sticking with Him when they didn’t understand it. When you get to the end of that road, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ I see it all. And that builds a deeper trust, a deeper love, a deeper understanding and a deeper friendship with God. You know, hard times can really refine you and deepen a relationship.”
Gokey’s first wife, Sophia, died in 2008 after a routine surgery for a congenital heart condition. He auditioned for AMERICAN IDOL shortly after her death, explaining “The show actually helped bring me healing.” His stint on the competition series launched his music career.
“Lean not on your own understanding, right. So it’s time to get out of your own mind because you’re not your savior,” he added. “You’re just not your savior. God saves to the utmost. You hope, take it one day at a time. Maybe the hope looks a little different than you thought it should be…you’ve gotta get out of your own understanding because if you’re going to be that stubborn, you’re going to destroy your life.”
While there is a time for grief, Gokey believes it is foolish to wallow in the pain. As Paul says, he has “learned to be content whatever the circumstances,” which does not only apply to physical circumstances but mental ones as well. Through Christ, peace and joy can be found, but Gokey believes, it also takes a decision on our part.
“It’s time to make yourself let go because everything that you become today is your decision,” he said. “‘What do you mean my decision? People did this to me.’ Yes, but you have a decision to make, even in the worst circumstances. Think of Viktor Frankl, he said the one thing they can never take away from me is my decision to have a good attitude, no matter what happens to me. Even while he lost his wife in the Holocaust, he lost his whole family in the Holocaust, he said, I will not let them take my attitude, my joy, my reason for living away.”
“Your thoughts are you,” Gokey continued. “You can be a prisoner to [them] by making a decision, by yielding to the wrong thoughts because here’s the thing, your thoughts transform you. Neuroscience has proven [they]’ll transform you and you will be your own downfall, beholden on thinking that your situation was your downfall.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
Danny Gokey recently sat down with Kirk Cameron to talk about hope and how he was able to continue on after the tragic death of his wife.
“When you walk through difficult times and hope is like a lifesaver to you, it tends to naturally bubble up out of you,” Gokey said. “What’s in us comes out of us.”
“I’ve seen God move in my life, I’ve seen God help me pull through significant losses and through different seasons of anxiety and depression and everything that brought me out was always hope. When people lose hope, they lose their reason to live,” he continued.
Gokey’s hope comes from his strong background in faith. He was drawn to the father at a young age and grew up in the church. Staying in the word and understanding the word has allowed him to stay strong in his faith through the ups and downs in his life.
