TobyMac on Reading the Bible Again after Tragedy: God ‘Will Never Leave Us’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Christian artist TobyMac recently discussed the tragic moment that made him put down his Bible, and how God helped him return to reading scripture.
The Grammy-winner was in the middle of reading the Bible from start to finish when “tragedy struck our household.” TobyMac’s 21-year-old son Truett passed away in 2019.
“I got about halfway through the Old Testament [before Truett died],” he shared. “And I didn’t really have the heart to keep reading, so I put it down.”
However, the singer felt God urging him to continue.
“I looked up at God, and I told Him, ‘I’m going to give You a chance,” TobyMac recalled. “That’s pretty bold to say to the God of all creation, you know what I’m saying? But I said that. And I kept reading. And I learned something about relationships. You see, you can’t have a relationship with anyone if you’re not talking to them and they’re not talking to you. You can’t have a relationship if you’re not listening to them, and they’re not listening to you.”
He went on to say that God’s Word is “how He talks to us, and the way we talk to Him is by prayer.”
“There’s something beautiful that I learned that comes with having a relationship with God,” TobyMac continued. “You see, He makes us these promises. And the promise that I’ve been hanging on [to] for the last few years is this: God promised that if we have a relationship with Him, that He will never leave us or forsake us. …He might not change what happened. He might not make everything different. But He doesn’t go away.”
Movieguide® previously reported on how TobyMac relied on his faith following the death of his son:
Christian artist TobyMac recently shared how his perspective on grief and eternity changed after his son, Truett Foster McKeehan, died of a drug overdose in 2019.
In a video from JOY FM, TobyMac said that grief motivated him to think more deeply about eternity and his relationship with God.
“I spoke about eternity before, but I never really thought about it deeply … because I didn’t need to,” he said. “I always trusted God. I always walked with God. It’s not a question of that…”
The artist continued, “I don’t know if I’ll ever laugh as deeply. I don’t know if I’ll ever smile as big. But I can smile and I can laugh. God doesn’t always take away the cold. He promises that He’ll be right there in it with us. That’s what I held on to. And I found Him there, or He found me there. I didn’t know God stayed close in those times, but I’ve learned that He does. I really have.”
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