{"id":10827,"date":"2023-04-25T10:26:09","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T14:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=10827"},"modified":"2023-04-25T10:26:09","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T14:26:09","slug":"granger-smith-is-stepping-away-from-music-to-pursue-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2023\/04\/granger-smith-is-stepping-away-from-music-to-pursue-ministry.html","title":{"rendered":"Granger Smith is Stepping Away From Music to Pursue Ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kathy Hutchins\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Country musician Granger Smith recently made headlines when he announced that he was stepping away from his music career to pursue ministry at his local church. Smith said his life is one he\u2019s always wanted, but he\u2019s ready to give it all up.<\/p>\n

On \u201cSunday Night in America,\u201d he explained, \u201cIt\u2019s a story of a guy that, you know, had what I\u2019ve always dreamed of having. And I\u2019m turning it back over. I\u2019m turning it back in for a life at the local church. But I believe that that\u2019s what I am called to do.\u201d Host Trey Gowdy asked Smith how he got through one of the most challenging moments of his life when his 3-year-old son River died in a drowning accident in 2019.<\/p>\n

Gowdy asked, \u201cFor some, that makes them abandon their faith and for some, that makes it stronger. How did this make your faith stronger?\u201d Smith responded, \u201cI wish I knew the formula for whether or not that\u2019s going to make you bitter or better. I cannot take credit myself for the radical transformation that the Lord did in my life through this tragedy. And sometimes, you know, when that soil is cultivated, and we have to dig deep, and we can\u2019t find it within ourselves- the Lord comes in and shows himself in a very profound way, in a way that I cannot take any credit for.\u201d<\/p>\n