By Movieguide® Staff
Danny Gokey has released many songs, but the Christian artist says this track tells the story of his life.
“My LIFE STORY in ONE SONG!” he captioned an Instagram video that shows him singing his 2014 song “This Is What It Means.”
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The lyrics include lines like, “Sometimes the joy can give you wings to fly // Sometimes the pain will cut you so just like a knife // There’s fear, there’s faith, there’s loss, there’s grace // I’ve seen it from both sides // This is what it means to be alive.”
“This Is What It Means” also features lyrics about losing “the one I loved the most // now she’s 6 feet of earth away,” referring to the tragic death of his first wife, Sophia, who passed away in 2008 due to complications from a congenital heart defect.
Gokey struggled with his faith in the aftermath of Sophia’s death, telling the “Christopher Closeup Show” that he often asked God, “Why didn’t you answer my prayer?”
“I was really upset at God because being raised in the church, you understand that God is a miracle worker. But when you believe and have nothing to show for it, what are you supposed to do?” he explained.
Gokey continued, “It’s a dream when some people think that once you give your life to God, all of a sudden things are perfect. That’s not the case. We live in a world that’s broken, where there’s disease, where people are selfish. The foundation of your faith helps you know how to put that in proper perspective. A lot of times when we don’t put it in proper perspective, we start getting bitter and angry because something happened to us that wasn’t fair. That’s the [thinking] that can destroy us.”
The singer explained that he eventually had to make a choice between anger or hope. He chose hope.
“When I did that, it was a process, but it was like someone pulled a plug from my heart. The toxic emotions — the injustice, the bitterness, the questions of, ‘Why? I don’t understand, it’s not fair!’ that built up this toxicity of emotions — they just drained once that plug was pulled out,” he said. “Once I let that go, I found this beautiful place. The sky was bluer, the grass was greener, I don’t know how to explain it. It’s powerful to have a pure heart.”
Gokey’s “This Is What It Means” is a testament to the singer’s faith and how it has seen him through the highs and lows of life.
Read Next: How Danny Gokey Found Hope After Wife’s Death: ‘I’ve Seen God in My Life’
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