Before Danny Gokey became a Christian music star, he shared that he had to “tread through” some difficult situations.
“I remember at 27 years old, I just prayed, and I said, ‘God, I think I missed it. I thought You had something bigger for me, but I’m 27 now,’” he told Jesus Calling, saying that he was sure that it was “too late” for him to be a success in the music industry.
He added, “And it’s interesting how, even when I thought it was done, it wasn’t done, and how this desire sparked up in me to try out for AMERICAN IDOL, and that’s because my first wife, Sophia, would watch it all the time.”
Related: How Danny Gokey Found Hope After Wife’s Death: ‘I’ve Seen God in My Life’
Once Gokey watched a few episodes, “it sparked this interest to try out,” and he was ready for a new beginning. However, “What I thought was over in my life was just the beginning, but there was a darkness that I was gonna have to tread through,” he said, “And that’s one month before going on AMERICAN IDOL, I would lose my wife unexpectedly, and I’d be faced with this difficult challenge.”
Sophia passed away due to complications from a congenital heart defect.
“I remember not wanting to try out for AMERICAN IDOL because the pain was just so intense, and it was only a month after she passed away,” he shared, explaining that it was eventually due to the encouragement of his friends and pastor that he auditioned.
“And so, in the most difficult time of my life, losing a spouse, all of a sudden there’s a wide open door in the midst of all that to fulfill a dream that God was giving me in that moment,” he said. “And I will say this — having that dream and having that vision and having that hope, it really helped me to tread through the grief, the suffering, the angst.”
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2017, Gokey shared, “I didn’t want to go to the show, but it was my last opportunity because of the age limit. I was 28. Even though I didn’t want to go, I’m glad I did because it expanded my view of the world. The show actually helped bring me healing.”
He has since spoken about how he has processed his grief over the years. In a conversation with Kirk Cameron, Gokey said, “I’ve seen God move in my life, I’ve seen God help me pull through significant losses and through different seasons of anxiety and depression and everything that brought me out was always hope.”
Gokey’s journey through serious struggles before finding success in the music industry is a testament to the power hope can hold in our lives.
Read Next: Danny Gokey, Kirk Cameron Share How to ‘Let Go’ and Find Hope
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