Former Country Star Almost Committed Suicide But Surrendered to God Instead

Published: August 19, 2024

Former Country Star Almost Committed Suicide But Surrendered to God Instead

By Movieguide® Contributor

Former country singer-turned-minister Granger Smith is sharing the moment he overcame the enemy’s influence and surrendered to God.

“We had the perfect little life,” he said while appearing on “Hey! It’s The Luskos.” “It was a good season, until I found River in the middle of the pool, floating face down.”

The 3-year-old had gotten through a pool gate that Smith thought was locked to refill his water gun and fell in. River died two days later at Dell Children’s Medical Center.

After his son’s death, Smith struggled to overcome his grief, saying, “I desperately wanted to be better.”

“I went on a journey that was trying to fix myself because I had already checked the box of ‘I’ve got Jesus’…I didn’t claim to be an unbeliever. I didn’t claim to have no faith,” he explained.

He spoke about that time in his life in further detail in an interview with NBC, saying, “Although I was a cultural Christian, I really relied on myself. I was my Savior. I fixed my own problems. ‘Self-help in America’ — like that was my religion.”

Instead of relying on faith, Smith quickly returned to touring, relying on marijuana to help him sleep each night. After a night of heavy drinking on the road, he returned to his tour bus.

“I had a thought that wasn’t my own,” he said. “It was like a voice speaking to me. It was saying, ‘This is the way to rest, this is the way to peace, just pull the trigger’ — I was holding a gun — and by God’s grace alone, I realized, ‘That’s not my voice…I’m under attack.’’

Smith continued, “I dropped it all, and I surrendered, and I said, ‘Please Lord Jesus, please save me.’”

“After I cried out there…the PTSD stopped,” he said. “The voice stopped. I dropped the gun, dropped down to the floor…and I fell asleep right there. Woke up [with] a new mission: Who is Jesus, really?”

After his concert tour ended, Smith decided to end his country music career and dedicate his life to Christ, becoming a minister in his local church.

“I just want to glorify God the best way that I can,” he wrote on Instagram. “I want to learn and grow and serve my local church and allow my pastors to equip and affirm those next steps. Lord willing, I want to be used to help people find their purpose.”

Movieguide® previously reported on how losing his son impacted Smith’s faith:

Country music star Granger Smith is sharing how his faith helped him after the tragic death of his 3-year-old son

River Smith drowned in the family’s pool in July 2019.

“The months and years following that were rock bottom for me,” Smith said. He shared that he and wife Amber Bartlett struggled to come to terms with their son’s death.

“I thought I could [do it] on my own with self-help and self-improvement and exercise and positivity and visualization, meditation and devotionals,” he explained. “I thought I could just mend it, fix it and move on, and I couldn’t.”

The singer said that it wasn’t until he “surrendered to God” that he found any peace.

“God gave River to us for three years and that was his mission,” Smith explained. “I don’t think God takes anyone too soon. I believe he was put on this earth for the exact amount of time… He lived a good 1,000 days. That’s a huge example for me and how we’re going to look at every single day.”