As Christian recording artist Natalie Grant performs concerts across the country, she hopes the songs on her latest album “Hurricane” will connect audiences to Christ in the midst of life’s challenges and storms.
“We often ask God to come rescue us from the storm,” Grant said. “However, I think that sometimes He’s saying, ‘My child, I’ve done everything that I need to do but you have to do your part. Take a hold of the hand that I’m extending.’ I remember reading Matthew 14, which is a passage of Scripture that I’ve known for years, where Jesus sent the disciples ahead in a boat and He stayed back to pray. On this particular day what struck me the most while reading the story was that the Lord sent the disciples straight into the storm. He knew exactly when the storm was coming and He still sent them straight into it.
“Sometimes we think that God is going to get us out of the storm instead of realizing that He may have actually been preparing us for the purpose of going through the storm. We learn more about the character of the God that we serve when we’re in the middle of the storm than we do when we are on the mountaintop. I had been saying, ‘Lord, get me out of these storms — stop the storms.’ However, Jesus was saying, ‘No, I’m coming into your storm.’”
Following the birth of her third child, Grant suffered from postpartum depression while resuming a busy touring schedule. During this time, her father was diagnosed with cancer and her nephew struggled with a heroine addiction.
Grant felt the storms intensifying all around her but was afraid to admit that the waves were about to come crashing down. “Postpartum depression was something that I struggled with very privately and quietly,” Grant acknowledged. “I felt this shame and thought that I couldn’t talk about it because what kind of mother would I be that I would be questioning the sovereignty of God? My daughter, Sadie, was the miracle that I didn’t know to ask for and a precious blessing to our family that we didn’t expect.
“My family was facing serious situations with my father and nephew that we had never experienced before, and I felt like the storms of life were pounding down all at once. You get to this place where it’s like, ‘Enough, I just can’t take anymore.’ I found myself in this pit of darkness that I had never been in before,” she said. “I had never experienced depression and it was becoming harder each day to put one foot in front of the other. It didn’t make any sense to me but I still couldn’t shake it. It was quite crippling for me and I struggled for about 18 months.”
While seeking the Lord’s guidance and direction, Grant recognized the importance of revealing personal struggles in an effort to minister to others facing similar situations.
“When I got to the place of admitting my brokenness, I think that’s when the Lord was able to take hold,” she said. “Dealing with depression as a Christian artist was so shameful to me because I thought, ‘What kind of Christian am I? I’m singing all these songs and quoting all these Bible verses that I’m telling everyone else to follow but I’m not believing it in my own life.’ I think that’s why I struggled longer than I should have because I just stayed quiet about it. Once I started to give a voice to it, I saw God using my weakness to show His strength and power. I ended up writing more songs on this record than I’ve ever written before — it’s amazing how the songwriting process became a catalyst for my healing.”
By sharing the message behind the music, Grant hopes these songs will be effective in connecting people to Christ as their anchor. “This is the most personal record that I’ve ever made,” Grant noted. “There’s a song called ‘Burn Bright’ that I wrote as a letter for my nephew struggling with drug addiction. I had no idea how many families I would hear from who have been touched by addiction. … It’s a reminder that God has a specific purpose and plan for each individual life. As a child of the everlasting light, we were made to shine.
“My prayer is that these songs will be like an anchor to people,” she said. “When I hear stories about how these songs have impacted families and find out that God really did answer the specific prayers for them, it’s very humbling. If you listen to the record it’s not a reflection of where I was living. It’s a reflection of where I believed I was going and that is the result of having hope. Hope is what keeps the light on in the dark moments. Hope is the thing that helps us put one foot in front of the other, knowing that we may be in the midst of pain but believing that a better day is coming. I really wanted songs that were hopeful and full of encouragement because that’s what I was looking for in my own life.”
While sharing stories about trials and triumph Grant emphasizes to audiences the importance of surrendering weaknesses over to the Lord and relying on His power, protection and provision.
“I’m grateful that I don’t struggle with depression anymore and my father is doing fantastic,” Grant said. “These songs are all a part of my journey. From start to finish from the very first words of the first song stating ‘here I am crying out on the floor’ to the last song that proclaims ‘we win in the end.’
“So many people feel like they have lost everything in life and I just couldn’t shake the idea that no matter what believers will face on this earth, we win in the end,” she said. “When it’s all said and done God is going to make sense of the stuff that we think makes no sense in this life. We may not get the answers this side of heaven but there is coming a day when the sun will always shine and He will wipe every tear away.”
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