Episode #312 — It’s rather stunning to hear it now, but it was only several years ago when recording artist Rhett Walker was close to walking away from music for good. The line between the business & the ministry of music had never been tougher to walk, and he just felt it might be time to try something else. But Rhett decided to release one final single – “Believer”, and let God do what He wanted to do with it.
“I had this one thing. I was like, ‘God. You’ve got to end it for me. ‘Believer’s’ taking forever. And I told my wife, if ‘Believer’ doesn’t hit with radio by the end of this year, I’m going to take that as a sign from God and step out of music.”
“By October, I think it was like top 15, and it wasn’t slowing down. It just started picking up, and then by the end of 2019 – going into 2020 – that song was in the top 5 for like 28 weeks in a row. The biggest charting song in all of my career. And I was like, ‘Ok! I guess God is not done with me here. But you have to remember how to prioritize how you do this.’”
It was an incredible journey that wasn’t just about what Rhett did for a living. It reshaped the heart of how he approached everything in his life.
“I really did step back and say, ‘God. I want to do this the way You want it to be done. Not the way Rhett thinks it needs to be done. Because I’m a product of the south. You keep moving. You work hard. You hustle all the time. And all of those are good attributes when they’re focused. But I think God was saying, ‘Hey, you need to quit trying to get ahead of Me. Let Me give you the words to say. Let Me give you the songs and melodies to sing. So that’s what I’ve done.”
“Watching God take ‘Believer’ further than I myself could have ever taken it, it was life changing. It’s very easy to forget – God doesn’t need me! I’m just a vessel He’s chosen to use. So step back, and let God do it. And I’ve had a blast! I’ve been having more fun doing music now than I ever have.”
Rhett Walker is the recording artist behind hits like “Believer”, “When Mercy Found Me”, and his latest, “Gospel Song”.
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