Episode #317 — It was a tragic loss that would reshape everything for Anne Wilson. In the days after a stunning car accident took her dear brother Jacob’s life, Anne found herself worshipping God more than ever as she walked through her grief. As she was pouring her heart out in song, Anne’s mom overheard her daughter. She was shocked, because no one in Anne’s family had any idea that she could sing!
“I started to just worship the Lord like never before during that time. I just had this heart for wanting to worship God with everything in me. As I was sitting down at the piano, my mom overheard me singing ‘What a Beautiful Name’ by Hillsong. She comes in, and she’s like, ‘I didn’t know you sing!’ ‘Mom. I don’t sing. I’m just worshiping God right now.’ I was kind of frustrated because I was trying to worship, and I was almost embarrassed because I just didn’t like to sing in front of my mom. I never sang in front of her. So it was definitely an embarrassing moment for me as a kid. And she was like, ‘Well, will you at least pray about singing at the funeral?’”
“And I was like, ‘Mom, there is no way.’ So I go upstairs to my room, and I locked the door. ‘God, if You want me to sing, You’re going to have to tell me, because I cannot do this. I’m going to cry my eyes out. I’m too nervous. I’ve never sang in front of anyone.’ And sure enough, within like 30 minutes the Lord told me I needed to sing at the funeral. And so that was kind of the first moment of knowing God was doing something in my life.”
God was showing up in powerful ways in Anne’s life, but He wasn’t done yet!
“A few days later, the funeral arrived. And I’m walking up onstage to sit down at the piano. I sit down. My hand is about to start, to press the first chord to start the song, and I heard God’s voice. He spoke to me clear as day. I’ll never forget it. He said, ‘Anne. I am calling you to praise and worship my name. This is what I’m calling you to do.’
So, I was sitting there in front of 1,200 people at my brother’s funeral, facing the reality that Jacob had passed away and grieving him. Also just being nervous. And God speaks my calling to me, and it was more than just a calling. It was, this is why I was created. And I just remember the Lord taking all my nerves away and all my fears away, and just kind of replacing it with peace.”
Anne Wilson is the breakout singer & songwriter behind “My Jesus” – the single that’s taken radio by storm this year. And she’s got a brand new live EP on the way!
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