‘My Jesus’ singer Anne Wilson tells why she’s on fire for God after brother's tragic death
Capitol CMG artist Anne Wilson released her full-length debut album, My Jesusthis weekand the compilation of emotional declarations comes from the young singer's experience with tragedy and how God’s tangible presence got her through.
Raised in Lexington, Kentucky, Wilson, who grew up in a Christian home, said she didn't really know the Lord until the seventh grade when a Bible teacher went to her school and explained the love of Jesus in a way that resonated with her.
What she didn't know at the time was how much she'd soon be depending on her relationship with God to carry her through the next season of her life.
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"I became a follower of Him and didn't know just what would happen three years later. In 2017 my older brother, Jacob, passed away in a car accident at the age of 23,” Wilson said in an interview with The Christian Post. “That was such a hard season in my life. He was my best friend, and I loved him with everything in me.
“We were so close and he died tragically in a car accident and died on impact,” she continued. “So out of nowhere the police come to our house in the middle of the night and tell us the news. As you can imagine, it's very devastating to receive news like that.”
The tragedy of Jacob's death was devastating for Wilson and her family but amid the heartache, they found comfort in Jesus.
"Instead of turning from Him, we chose to walk closer to Him through that time,” she said. “So I became on fire for the Lord and we just chose to trust Him. We saw the Lord do a lot of really incredible things and [He] was just so faithful and kind to me and my family and it was such a sweet season.”
Upon hearing of her brother's death, Wilson felt compelled “such a strong way” to sit at the piano and worship for the first time. Although she had played the piano her entire life she had never felt compelled to worship before. Her mother heard her singing and asked Wilson to sing at her brother's funeral, which launched her music career.
"When he passed away, I just wanted to worship God and I found myself, instead of turning to medication or alcohol or something else, it was like I wanted to turn to the Lord for my medicine. When I needed comfort, or when I needed just to be comforted, [I’d] go straight to the piano and worship and sing,” the 20-year-old explained.
"I ended up making a YouTube video of the song that I sang at the funeral and posted it on YouTube,” Wilson added. “That was what ended up going viral and I met my manager from that video and that's how everything started. I started working in the industry and doing co-writes and really just processing all the loss of Jacob and what I had gone through with him, and then ended up signing a record deal in 2019 and started walking down the path of being a Christian artist.”
Wilson described herself as being on “fire for God” and said others can follow suit by having their own personal relationship with God.
"I think one of the most important things that my parents learned through this whole thing was, 'We've raised Anne in this great Christian home but yet, she didn't become a Christian until she found Jesus on her own,’” Wilson told CP. “For me, I had to get over myself; I had to start living for the Lord, I had to start seeking Him daily. It also got to a point where I realized I can't continue to live for the world anymore and I don't want to continue to walk down the path that I'm walking down, because I realized that was never going to get me anywhere but destruction.”
“So I would just encourage young girls that are around my age or younger walking through this time. It's really easy to fall into the ways of the world and give in to temptations, and to peer pressure, and to let the enemy lead you down that path. But for those that stand for truth, and when you stand in who you are as a child of God, and you pursue the Lord, you're going to be blessed abundantly for that,” she added.
Wilson acknowledged that following the Lord isn't always a beautiful journey. However, she testified that God is present in every season of your life and “you're never going to have to go a day or a second without Him.” She recalled being like everyone else "walking in a sinful life down a bad path until the Lord rescued me and gave me this hunger for Him."
"Heaven and Hell finally clicked with me,” she said.
Wilson is the first female artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Christian charts with her song “My Jesus,” which was also the longest-running No. 1 song on the chart for 2021. Her 14-song debut album of the same name is loaded with power-packed declarations. There are moments where the singer-songwriter talks back to the enemy, like in the song “Devil.” In another song, titled “Sunday Sermons,” she warns against the distractions that are trying to take people away from the church.
Watching God “do what He did when my brother passed away, I did not want to write just the normal happy songs,” she said. “I wanted to be an artist. Even though I'm young, I wanted to speak to people walking through loss, walking through real-life situations. I wanted to write a song that was talking to Satan about the fact that we have victory in Jesus and that he has no hold over us. All those things that are in my songs, I wanted to stand firm in those truths and speak those, and I wanted my songs to reach all different age groups and all different walks of life.”
Wilson’s songs were penned straight from her journals and showcase the different seasons of life.
"Every song speaks to believing what the Lord says about you, rather than what the world says, and standing for truth, and really stepping up and not being lukewarm, not just calling yourself a Christian but actually being in love with the Lord and seeking Him that way,” the young musician concluded.
My Jesus is now available to stream everywhere music is sold.
Jeannie Ortega Law is a reporter for The Christian Post. Reach her at: [email protected] She's also the author of the book, What Is Happening to Me? How to Defeat Your Unseen Enemy Follow her on Twitter: @jlawcp Facebook: JeannieOMusic
