Rivers of Mercy

You may remember the news reports from Texas in June 2019 when River Smith, the 3-year-old son of Granger and Amber Smith, drowned in their backyard swimming pool. Granger is a platinum-selling singer and songwriter, who lived here in Nashville for a time before returning to the Lone Star State to finish his degree at Texas A&M. He’s released eleven studio albums, sung at the White House, and performed for U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Kuwait. “Backroad Song” was Granger’s number-one single back in 2016. Shortly prior to the tragic drowning, Granger had opened for Garth Brooks before an audience of 86,000 fans. One could say that Granger was “living the dream,” and I think that Granger would readily acknowledge that.

When Granger found River facedown in the pool, emergency personnel and a team of physicians did everything possible in an attempt to save the little boy. That much-prayed-for miracle was not to be. As you might imagine, the family was overwhelmed by shock and grief. How do you say goodbye to your 3-year-old child? Granger describes the next season of his professional life as “a blur,” and he remembers bottoming out emotionally by the end of 2019. In the back of his tour bus, after a series of vivid mental images of River’s drowning struck him, Granger felt like he was drowning himself. In sheer desperation, he cried out: “My God, my Jesus! Save me! Save me, Jesus!”

Much like what Jesus tells us plainly in John 6:44 (“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”), Granger now testifies that the call of God upon his life was absolutely irresistible. In ways that he had never before experienced, Granger began to hunger and thirst for the Word of God. He began to study the Bible passionately, as the Scriptures began to transform him from the inside out. The more Granger studied, the more he wanted to study. The call was unmistakable and overwhelming.

Slowly but surely, Granger began to recognize that he was deeply loved by God. Despite the waves of pain and suffering that he and his family had endured, and were continuing to endure, Granger began to understand what was coming: “an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17). And the Holy Spirit began pouring into the spirit of Granger a flood of otherwise unexplainable peace and joy. He knew that he had been adopted as a child of God! I’ll quote Granger directly: “I fell head over heels … I don’t even fully remember what I said, but right there in that truck on a small country road in Texas, the old me died … It was all His grace.”

Granger and Amber’s surviving children, London and Lincoln, now have a new little brother. Granger recounts: “When my wife Amber became pregnant with our son Maverick, we were excited, but the news didn’t negate or replace the heaviness we still felt for our loss of River. We continued to have our ups and downs, natural waves of grief … Through it all, we were discovering new depths in our emotional capacity. What we learned was that grief and joy can beautifully coexist. We were still hurting, but we were also joyful even in our circumstances … God was doing something new. He was restoring us, not by removing the fire but by walking us right through the middle of it.”

If you Google “Granger (Kelly) Smith,” you will discover that his primary identity is now “American Baptist minister.” In fact, he’s enrolled at Southern Seminary and working towards a master’s degree. Granger summarizes his vocational transition like this: “As much as I love it, I’ve decided to end my touring career and follow the unrelenting call from God upon my life … There are too many hurting people, too many lost people, and too many people without a Savior in Jesus. John 3:36 says, ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.’ The reality of that burden is too great and the stakes are too high for me to continue at a distance from the frontlines of history’s great spiritual battle.”

Friends, you may be right in that fire that Granger described, even as you read this blog posting. I want to encourage you today. The Lord who made heaven and earth has His eye on you. You are not too far away from His magnanimous heart. In fact, God always uses our trials and our tears for higher purposes. So here’s what I’m urging you to do: surrender. Just surrender. Surrender now. Tell Jesus that you want to learn whatever He wants you to learn. Tell Jesus that you want to grow in whatever ways in which He wants you to grow. Tell Jesus that you’re willing to change in whatever ways He wants you to change. Tell Jesus that you’ll go wherever He wants to send you. Admit to Jesus that His plans for you are a whole lot better than your plans for you. Deep down, we all know that’s true.

Suffering is a normal part of life for those of us who reside on this side of heaven. None of us goes looking for it, but suffering comes. But we, like Granger and Amber Smith, can choose to fix our eyes on realities that we can’t fully see. When we think we’re overwhelmed, the unshakable truths of God will overwhelm us even more. He is faithful and true. He is fully of mercy. His steadfast love superabounds toward us. Christ’s gospel is our hope in every storm. Like Granger testified, it’s “all His grace.”

Join me at the frontlines of the battle. Our God will see us through.

The tomb is still empty.

Pastor Charles