January 29, 2026 • 26 mins
Our first guest is Jeremy Rosado, who traced a path from New York City dreams to the bright lights of American Idol and The Voice. But the biggest spotlight in his life wasn’t a stage—it was the decision to lay down his music career for a season to become a father to his niece. Jeremy shares how choosing fatherhood over fame became a pivotal act of faith, and how God used the quiet, waiting years to prepare him for a powerful return to music.
Later in the episode, we’ll hear from Nashville singer, songwriter, and author Jason Gray. Jason offers a vulnerable look into his life—one shaped by music, but also by instability, a painful childhood divorce, and reckoning with his own difficult divorce. Jason shares how the wounds he incurred became the very doorway through which he met God. He reveals the radical peace found in accepting divine love and unpacks why allowing yourself to be loved is the most radical, powerful act of faith.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Past interview: nobigdyl.
Upcoming interview: Tim Green
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Interview Quotes:
“I came off [American Idol] and took a few months—went to Nashville to start chasing this dream of mine. I quickly realized that my life was going to change and that there was a decision to be made [whether or not] to step in and help and become a father.” - Jeremy Rosado
“Even though that decision [to become a father to my niece] was not easy, it was worth it, and I would do it a million times over for my child. God provided and made ways for us. I look back now, and even in the pain and the tears, I can see His faithfulness and how He’s carried us.” - Jeremy Rosado
“When I did [The Voice], that trust and that reliance began to grow even more. It felt like every room I walked into, every stage I walked on, there was victory already there.It gave me renewed confidence in the God that I serve and in my ability to walk knowing that He’s with me and He’s for me. ” - Jeremy Rosado
“God knew how to cut through all of that [chaos] and speak the thing that He wanted me to hear in the way that He knew that I could understand it.” - Jason Gray
“All of a sudden, I had this profound sense of a loving presence in the car with me, as though it was holding me and it was saying, ‘Psst, hey, the words of this song that you love so much, this is my heart toward you. ‘When you’re weary, when you’re feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all like a bridge over troubled water.’” - Jason Gray
“From a very young age, I was drawn to music, and it has always been one of the places that I meet with God and one of the ways through which He speaks.” - Jason Gray
“I believe that when something connects us to our own heart, then in that same moment, worship spontaneously happens, and we are connected with the divine in that moment. Music has a way of connecting me to my heart and therefore brings
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
Life Audio. Did you know that Jesus Calling has its
own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will
enhance your spiritual life. You'll find beautiful videos with short
devotional moments to help you through your day, as well
as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday
people who share what their faith journey has meant to them.
(00:29):
You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series
hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe
today for new videos each week.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I never thought in a million years I'd do the
Voice so many years later, but my God has done
exceatingly abundling more than I saw. And it wasn't because
I was the best singer in the world or anything
like that. It was because I knew that God was
doing this and he wasn't wasting this opportunity for me.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. Our first guest is
Jeremy Risotto, who traced a path from New York City
dreams to the lights of American Idol and the Voice.
But the biggest spotlight in his life wasn't a stage.
It was the decision to lay down his music career
for a season to become a father to his niece.
Jeremy shares how choosing fatherhood over fame became a pivotal
(01:19):
act of faith and how God used the quiet waiting
years to prepare him for a powerful return to music.
Later in the episode, we'll hear from Nashville singer, songwriter
and author Jason Gray. Jason offers a vulnerable look into
his life, one shape by music but also by instability,
a painful childhood, divorce, and reckoning with his own difficult divorce.
(01:39):
Jason shares how the wounds he incurred became the very
doorway through which he met God. He reveals the radical
piece found in accepting divine love and unpacks why allowing
yourself to be loved in the most radical, powerful act
of faith. Let's begin with Jeremy's story.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Hey guys, my name is Jeremy Rosado. I am a
Christian recording artist. I've been doing music for a long time.
My album just came out. What a journey it's been.
I feel so blessed to be able to be here
with you guys, and I get to talk today and
just introduce myself. I excited, I grew up in a
(02:17):
Puerto Rican Brady Bunch is what I like to say.
I'm one of six. I grew up in New York City,
where it was loud and beautiful and very Latino.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Man.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
My parents really poured into this dream of mine that
I've had. I was three years old when I told
my parents I was going to sing my whole life.
And fast forward to eleven years old, I told my dad,
I'm going to be on American Idol. And when I
think about all the things that God allowed me to
do and accomplish, it's pretty incredible and I'm really thankful
to be able to do this. I did American Idol
(02:50):
almost thirteen years ago, I mean the top thirteen of
Vidol to the live shows. I came off the show
and took a few months, went to Nashville to start
chasing this stream of mine and quickly realized that my
life was good to change and that there was a
decision to be made to step in and help and
become a father. I stepped into the role of becoming
(03:13):
a dad, and I took on full guardianship of my
daughter now who was biologically my niece, and man, that
was a journey I was like twenty two years old,
twenty three years old. She was about eleven years old,
and so laying the dream down to become a father
was a really tough decision in the moment, you know
what I mean. I was on what was the biggest
music TV show in the world back then, and the
(03:34):
momentum that was there. Even though that decision was not easy,
it was worth it and I would do it a
million times over for my child. God provided and made
wayte for us. And you know, I look back now
and even in the pain and the tears and it's
I can see his faithfulness and always carried us. Fast
(03:58):
forward so many years to the Voice. My daughter is
about to graduate high school. Timing couldn't have been better.
It wasn't really a normal thing for you to be
able to do American Idol and the Voice. Now it
seems more common, But then I was like, God, there's
no way that these people are going to put me
on this show after I did American Idol. And also
God like, if it doesn't happen, I'm gonna be okay,
(04:19):
help me redirect the feeling of this and help me
honestly more in this dream. Right, Let me grieve it
so that I can move forward and do something else
that's maybe within your plan, God, that would be beneficial
to my life, to my daughter's life, but also fulfill me.
I never thought in a million years I'd do the
Voice so many years later, but my God has done
exceedingly abundling more than I saw. And when I got
(04:41):
the email from the producers of the Voice asking if
I would do the show, I was just like, there's
no way.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
God.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
It gave me like renewed confidence in the God that
I serve and in my ability to like walk knowing
that He's with me and He's for me. When I
did the show, that trust and that reliance began to
grow even more. It felt like every room I walked into,
every stage I walked on, there was victory already there,
Jesus calling. I've had that little devotion, the pocket size
(05:09):
one in my book bag for years, and it was
pivotal for me as I was on the Voice, as
I was backstage, as I took daily time to make sure,
like God, I need you with me. It helped me
because it was bite sized. It would get me through
a moment backstage where like we're sitting there for three
four hours and I'm fighting doubt of like I'm not
(05:31):
going to win this battle, and it would keep me
going backstage at the Voice and be like, Okay, I'm
gonna be okay. God's with me, He's before me. It
reminded me of the victory that I had already sensed
that was there.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
For me because of Jesus.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
And it wasn't because I was the best singer in
the world or anything like that. It was because I
knew that God was doing this and he wasn't wasting
this opportunity for me. In the waiting season, there were
a handful of people that held me up when I couldn't.
God was the driving force in that right. My best
friend was there, my mom, my dad, my daughter, different
(06:04):
people that play a role, my teen you know, my
n R Guy Garretto has been one of my closest
people this whole time. Just reminding me of the thing
that God called me to do, and that he who
began the good thing would see that to completion. Those
people were people that held me out. Man, it's here
in the room. What a life song for me, truly,
(06:25):
my therapy song, my healing song. I got to be
the hero for my daughter, but there's been moments in
which she's gotten to be the hero for me, and
I think that that's a beautiful, beautiful picture.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
To learn more about Jeremy Rosotto, visit www dot I
am Jeremyrosotto dot com and be sure to check out
his new album, The Waiting Room out now. Stay tuned
to Jason Gray's story after a brief message. Teens today
(06:58):
face more pressure than ever. If you're looking for a
way to bring calm, clarity, and faith into their everyday lives,
ten edition of Jesus Calling is here to help. This
well loved teen edition has been refreshed with a brand new,
modern cover, making it even more inviting for today's teens.
Jesus Calling for Teens is a three hundred and sixty
(07:20):
five day devotional and cuts through the noise of an
overwhelming world. Each short entry offers peace when anxiety creeps
in and comfort when they feel alone. Every day brings
them grounding scripture, gentle biblical guidance, and a moment to
pause and connect with Jesus in a meaningful way. The
teen edition is perfect for building morning quiet time, youth groups,
(07:41):
small groups, or simply building a steady daily rhythm with
God and with Jesus Calling. Available for adults and kids.
Families can grow together and share the journey. If a
teen in your life is looking for direction, reassurance, or
a deeper relationship with Jesus, this devotional gives them daily
reminders that they're seen, loved, and never alone. Find the
(08:02):
Teen Edition of Jesus Calling wherever.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Books are sold.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Our next guest is Jason Gray, a singer, songwriter and
now author. Jason grew up surrounded by music, but also
by instability, heartbreak, and silence. As a child navigating his parents' divorce,
he encountered wounds that would shape his voice, both literally
and spiritually. Today, Jason shares how music became his meeting
place with God, and how pain became a doorway rather
(08:34):
than a dead end, and how learning to be loved
changed everything.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
My name is Jason Gray, and I'm a singer, songwriter
and hopeful author. I grew up in Minnesota. I now
live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I also host the national
radio show for a serious XEM the message called Acoustic Storytime.
(09:04):
And I'm always on the road, so I'll probably be
in your neighborhood soon doing a concert or something. And
at the top here I feel like I want to
make people aware that if they've never heard me before,
I do suffer from a speech handicap known as stuttering.
(09:28):
There it is right there, So I just wanted people
to be aware of that, so you're not worried about me,
because I'm not nervous. It's just what I do. So
I didn't grow up in the church at all, but
I did grow up on the road with my mom's
rock and roll bar band. I did grow up around
a lot of music, so I suppose it's no surprise
(09:53):
that the first time that I heard God speaking to
me was through music. It was through a song by
the first group that I loved. My parents were in
the midst of a very ugly divorce, and that's where
my speech handicap first manifested. As I understand it, you
(10:17):
are genetically predisposed to stuttering, and then it usually waits
for some kind of traumatic event to trigger it, and
for me, it was the divorce of my parents, and
so that's the enduring scar that I have from that
time in my life. We were living at my grandparents'
(10:39):
house and I didn't have my own room, so I'm
sleeping on the couch every night. My grandpa was a
good man. He was a good man, he was my
best friend. But he was also an alcoholic, so there
was a lot of volatility, a lot of chaos. And
God knew how to cut through all of that and
(10:59):
speak the thing that he wanted me to hear in
the way that he knew that I could understand it.
So one day when I was out doing errands with
my grandpa, and it was January in Minnesota, so he
left the car running when he went into the liquor store,
and I'm sitting in the car and over the radio
comes a song by my favorite group, Simon and Garfunkle
(11:22):
Bridge over Troubled Water. And if you've never heard the song,
the lyric goes, when you're weary, when you're feeling small,
when tears are in your eyes, I will drive them
all like a bridge over troubled water. I will lay
me down for you. And I was a little boy
hearing those lyrics, and I was feeling all those things,
(11:46):
and all of a sudden, I had this profound sense
of a loving presence in the car with me, and
as though it was holding me, and it was saying, Hey,
the words of this song that you love so much,
this is my heart towards you when you're weary, when
you're feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I
(12:06):
will drive them all like a bridge or a troubled water.
And I believed it, you know. And I didn't have
any context for that experience, Like, you know, nobody was
talking to me about God or interpret things songs spiritually
or anything like that. It's just an experience I had,
and the language for it would come many years later. So,
(12:35):
from a very young age, I was drawn to music
and it has always been one of the places that
I meet with God and one of the ways through
which He speaks. And so I remember as a third
grader walking home from school and having a sense, I
think I'm on planet Earth to do music. And I've
(12:58):
been pursuing that ever since. It's something I have pursued
in spite of myself. Quincy Jones, the producer, he said
that music is the voice of God, and that's what
I've experienced as well. I believe that when something connects
(13:18):
us to our own heart, then in that same moment,
worship spontaneously happens, and we are connected with the divine
in that moment. Music has a way of connecting me
to my heart and therefore brings me to the place
(13:39):
where God meets with me. Here's an author I love
whose work has been very formational in my Life's name
is Fredbiechner, and he talks about you can recognize the
holy places in your life by noticing when you lose
(13:59):
track of time. If you love it tinkering on a car,
or working in the garden, or listen to music or
conversation with a friend, those moments where you lose track
of time and you forget yourself indicates that you're on
holy ground. I think it's so beautiful right. It just
(14:22):
means we just have to pay a little bit of
attention and discover that we we're always stumbling on the
holy ground. The Lord has usually come to me through
other people. As inconsistent and as unreliable as we often are,
(14:47):
he demonstrates that we are still his preferred delivery system
for his love in the world. In the midst of
my divorce, that was laying on the bathroom floor at
three am, crying out to a God who I wasn't
(15:08):
sure if he was there anymore, because it seemed like
most time I was only here in a dial tone,
and I was afraid that my life that I'd always
felt he held was slipping through his hands. You know,
I'm just weeping, and all of a sudden, I hear
these quiet words in my spirit or what if this
(15:33):
is all right on time? It was just those words
right on time that I began to see how it
could be that everything that had happened my whole life,
all the painful things, everything was leading to this moment
(15:54):
to break me open enough to be able to receive
the transformation that I had been praying for for as
long as I could remember. And that gave me a
sense of peace and helped me to feel like I
was no longer at the mercy of the storms of
my life, but that this storm held within it the
(16:19):
power to make me who I'd always wanted to be,
you know. And it moved me from anxious resistance of
the trouble in my life to a kind of teachable acceptance.
And I was helpful, and that has stayed with me.
There was this one moment I was on tour. I
(16:40):
was in the back lounge of the tour bus with
my friend Andy calla Horn, and I was in the
worst of all the painful things that were happening in
my marriage, and he asked me how I was doing,
like he really meant it, and I just kind of
opened up to him and just just kind of told
him everything. And then I braced myself because I thought, Okay,
(17:01):
now he's going to start offering me answers by verses
or unasked for encouragement. Here it comes, you know, so
that he can feel useful. And he didn't do that,
and what he did instead became one of the most
healing moments in my life. He said, Okay, here's what
I want you to do, Jason. I want you to
stand up with me, and I'm going to hug you
(17:24):
and I'm going to hold you, and you have to
let me for two minutes. I stood up and Andy
hugged me and he was holding me, and at first
I was laughing just because I felt awkward, and then
I started crying, and then I started ugly crying, you know,
and then by the end I had just kind of
(17:45):
surrendered all of it, and I was slumped there in
the arms of my friend, who didn't say a word
but what he was saying was so clear. Right. He
was saying, You're loved, You're not alone, and everything's going
to be okay. And in that moment, that was the
embrace of God to me. I think there's a lot
(18:12):
of layers to how I've feeled from my anger. I
think first of all, I had to come to a
place of trust that I could bring my anger to God.
You know, a lot of my anger also arose from
(18:33):
ideas that I inherited about how God should conduct himself
and what I can expect from him. So a lot
of that was my own expectations. That's usually how it works,
right with God. With other people, it's our own expectations
that have created an opportunity for anger and resentment. When
(18:58):
somebody is hurting or angry, especially if they're angry with you,
the three most loving words you can speak or tell
me more. And what you want to do is you
want to get them talking and give them a safe
place to air their grievances. And in that moment, you
(19:20):
may be tempted to defend yourself or to explain yourself
or correct inaccuracies, and you can do that if you
want to, but then you will miss an opportunity for
some kind of healing that happens. And it's the curse
of futility, right that no matter what I do, it
(19:42):
will never be enough. It will be frustrated at every turn,
and it's only a hop, skip and a jump from
there too. No matter what I do, I'm afraid I'll
never be enough. And I think that that is the
core wound in every human heart. I'm afraid, no matter
what I do, I'll never be enough. And so I
(20:06):
think our sin comes in the ways that we compulsively
try to address that, you know, and deal with that,
because most of our sin, to me, looks like attempts
to assure ourselves that we're enough. Right, A person who
(20:26):
turns to pornography to enter a fantasy world where they
can imagine themselves wanted with no risk of rejection. Right
workaholism where I can prove my merit even if it
destroys my marriage, and I have no friends. All the
(20:46):
things that we do, you know, like if I, if
I look underneath them, it looks like I'm looking for
love in all the wrong places, right, which is that
old country song. But the antidote for all of that,
I believe is to run to Jesus, who says that
(21:09):
you're enough because I say so, and when I allow
him to, when I just let myself be radically loved.
I think that's the most radical thing that I can do,
is just to let myself be loved. And when I
do that and I'm reminded of who I am, all
(21:30):
those other compulsions fall away, right, And so I think
the antidote to all of my striving, my regret, my
insecurity is simply to turn to Jesus and see his
(21:51):
arms stretched out wide, and there I can see that, oh,
shoot he is that's my name. They're carved in the
palm of his hand. He loves me that much, and
then all those other things just kind of lose their
hold for me. When I was a young man, somebody
(22:11):
gave me a book called The Practice of the Presence
of God by brother Lawrence, and he was a monk
from like six hundred years ago, and the idea in
it was that you can stay in continual conversation with
the Lord. And I've tried to practice that, you know,
(22:31):
So if I'm watching a movie, I am in conversation
with the Holy Spirit about it. If I'm here in
a podcast or you know, I'm trying to always be
in communication with the Holy Spirit, to do it in
a more intentional way each day. The way that I
(22:54):
have observed how God works in my life is that
if I get connected to my own heart, all of
a sudden, He's meeting with me there. I think. I
think the Bible is beautiful and that it is meant
to be at least I experience it as training us
in wisdom and teaching us to recognize the voice of
(23:17):
God and to be a people who are spirit led.
It helps us to tune into the still small voice.
Now we can become afraid of the trust or the
discernment that that requires, and so we may exclusively rely
(23:41):
on Okay, it's like this. If I love the Bible
so much that I only allow God to speak to
me through it, rather than allowing it to train me
to be more in tune with the still small voice,
the voice of the Holy Spirit, then I've probably loved
(24:02):
it too much, and so try to use the Bible
to help me hear God speak to me in intimately
personal ways. I'm reading from Jesus Listens December twentieth, So
you have a guy with the speech handicap is not
(24:22):
going to read to you. You're welcome or here we go.
Gracious God, the Bible promises that those who wait for
you will gain new strength. I love to spend time
waiting in your presence, even though multitasking and staying busy
have become the norm. So I come to you with
(24:42):
my weariness and burdens, Being candidly real with you. While
I rest in your presence and tell you about my concerns,
you lift heavy burdens from my aching shoulders. I'm grateful
that you are able to do immeasurably more than all
I ask or imagine. As I arise from these quiet
(25:03):
moments with you, I delight hearing you whisper I am
with you, and I rejoice in the new strength gained
through spending time with you in your energizing name, Jesus Amen.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
To learn more about Jason Gray, visit Jason Gray dot
com and be sure to check out his new children's
book Sparrows at your favorite retailer. If you'd like to
hear more stories about how music can change our hearts,
check out our interview with No Big Deal Next time
on the Jesus Going podcast, we'll hear from former Atlanta
(25:41):
Falcons NFL player Tim Green, who opens up about his
life changing diagnosis of ALS and how God met him
in his suffering.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
I've always been driven in chasing the next accomplishment, but
there came a moment when I realized God wasn't interested
in my resume, he was interested in my heart. All
the roles I've played, athlete, author, commentator, at attorney were.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
All just different ways to serve.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
The turning point was understanding that my purpose wasn't about achievement,
it was about bringing glory to Him and loving people.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Well.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith
podcast on the Live Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring
you stories from people who share their journeys of faith
and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives.
Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or
wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a review
(26:45):
so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally,
you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus
Calling website at Jesuscalling dot com.
Life Audio. Did you know that Jesus Calling has its
own YouTube channel. It's full of great content that will
enhance your spiritual life. You'll find beautiful videos with short
devotional moments to help you through your day, as well
as stories on video from celebrities, authors, pastors, and everyday
people who share what their faith journey has meant to them.
(00:29):
You'll also find that Jesus Listens Stories of Prayer series
hosted by Susie McIntyre Eaton, featuring new guests monthly. Subscribe
today for new videos each week.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
I never thought in a million years I'd do the
Voice so many years later, but my God has done
exceatingly abundling more than I saw. And it wasn't because
I was the best singer in the world or anything
like that. It was because I knew that God was
doing this and he wasn't wasting this opportunity for me.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Welcome to the Jesus Calling Podcast. Our first guest is
Jeremy Risotto, who traced a path from New York City
dreams to the lights of American Idol and the Voice.
But the biggest spotlight in his life wasn't a stage.
It was the decision to lay down his music career
for a season to become a father to his niece.
Jeremy shares how choosing fatherhood over fame became a pivotal
(01:19):
act of faith and how God used the quiet waiting
years to prepare him for a powerful return to music.
Later in the episode, we'll hear from Nashville singer, songwriter
and author Jason Gray. Jason offers a vulnerable look into
his life, one shape by music but also by instability,
a painful childhood, divorce, and reckoning with his own difficult divorce.
(01:39):
Jason shares how the wounds he incurred became the very
doorway through which he met God. He reveals the radical
piece found in accepting divine love and unpacks why allowing
yourself to be loved in the most radical, powerful act
of faith. Let's begin with Jeremy's story.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Hey guys, my name is Jeremy Rosado. I am a
Christian recording artist. I've been doing music for a long time.
My album just came out. What a journey it's been.
I feel so blessed to be able to be here
with you guys, and I get to talk today and
just introduce myself. I excited, I grew up in a
(02:17):
Puerto Rican Brady Bunch is what I like to say.
I'm one of six. I grew up in New York City,
where it was loud and beautiful and very Latino.
Speaker 3 (02:29):
Man.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
My parents really poured into this dream of mine that
I've had. I was three years old when I told
my parents I was going to sing my whole life.
And fast forward to eleven years old, I told my dad,
I'm going to be on American Idol. And when I
think about all the things that God allowed me to
do and accomplish, it's pretty incredible and I'm really thankful
to be able to do this. I did American Idol
(02:50):
almost thirteen years ago, I mean the top thirteen of
Vidol to the live shows. I came off the show
and took a few months, went to Nashville to start
chasing this stream of mine and quickly realized that my
life was good to change and that there was a
decision to be made to step in and help and
become a father. I stepped into the role of becoming
(03:13):
a dad, and I took on full guardianship of my
daughter now who was biologically my niece, and man, that
was a journey I was like twenty two years old,
twenty three years old. She was about eleven years old,
and so laying the dream down to become a father
was a really tough decision in the moment, you know
what I mean. I was on what was the biggest
music TV show in the world back then, and the
(03:34):
momentum that was there. Even though that decision was not easy,
it was worth it and I would do it a
million times over for my child. God provided and made
wayte for us. And you know, I look back now
and even in the pain and the tears and it's
I can see his faithfulness and always carried us. Fast
(03:58):
forward so many years to the Voice. My daughter is
about to graduate high school. Timing couldn't have been better.
It wasn't really a normal thing for you to be
able to do American Idol and the Voice. Now it
seems more common, But then I was like, God, there's
no way that these people are going to put me
on this show after I did American Idol. And also
God like, if it doesn't happen, I'm gonna be okay,
(04:19):
help me redirect the feeling of this and help me
honestly more in this dream. Right, Let me grieve it
so that I can move forward and do something else
that's maybe within your plan, God, that would be beneficial
to my life, to my daughter's life, but also fulfill me.
I never thought in a million years I'd do the
Voice so many years later, but my God has done
exceedingly abundling more than I saw. And when I got
(04:41):
the email from the producers of the Voice asking if
I would do the show, I was just like, there's
no way.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
God.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
It gave me like renewed confidence in the God that
I serve and in my ability to like walk knowing
that He's with me and He's for me. When I
did the show, that trust and that reliance began to
grow even more. It felt like every room I walked into,
every stage I walked on, there was victory already there,
Jesus calling. I've had that little devotion, the pocket size
(05:09):
one in my book bag for years, and it was
pivotal for me as I was on the Voice, as
I was backstage, as I took daily time to make sure,
like God, I need you with me. It helped me
because it was bite sized. It would get me through
a moment backstage where like we're sitting there for three
four hours and I'm fighting doubt of like I'm not
(05:31):
going to win this battle, and it would keep me
going backstage at the Voice and be like, Okay, I'm
gonna be okay. God's with me, He's before me. It
reminded me of the victory that I had already sensed
that was there.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
For me because of Jesus.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
And it wasn't because I was the best singer in
the world or anything like that. It was because I
knew that God was doing this and he wasn't wasting
this opportunity for me. In the waiting season, there were
a handful of people that held me up when I couldn't.
God was the driving force in that right. My best
friend was there, my mom, my dad, my daughter, different
(06:04):
people that play a role, my teen you know, my
n R Guy Garretto has been one of my closest
people this whole time. Just reminding me of the thing
that God called me to do, and that he who
began the good thing would see that to completion. Those
people were people that held me out. Man, it's here
in the room. What a life song for me, truly,
(06:25):
my therapy song, my healing song. I got to be
the hero for my daughter, but there's been moments in
which she's gotten to be the hero for me, and
I think that that's a beautiful, beautiful picture.
Speaker 1 (06:37):
To learn more about Jeremy Rosotto, visit www dot I
am Jeremyrosotto dot com and be sure to check out
his new album, The Waiting Room out now. Stay tuned
to Jason Gray's story after a brief message. Teens today
(06:58):
face more pressure than ever. If you're looking for a
way to bring calm, clarity, and faith into their everyday lives,
ten edition of Jesus Calling is here to help. This
well loved teen edition has been refreshed with a brand new,
modern cover, making it even more inviting for today's teens.
Jesus Calling for Teens is a three hundred and sixty
(07:20):
five day devotional and cuts through the noise of an
overwhelming world. Each short entry offers peace when anxiety creeps
in and comfort when they feel alone. Every day brings
them grounding scripture, gentle biblical guidance, and a moment to
pause and connect with Jesus in a meaningful way. The
teen edition is perfect for building morning quiet time, youth groups,
(07:41):
small groups, or simply building a steady daily rhythm with
God and with Jesus Calling. Available for adults and kids.
Families can grow together and share the journey. If a
teen in your life is looking for direction, reassurance, or
a deeper relationship with Jesus, this devotional gives them daily
reminders that they're seen, loved, and never alone. Find the
(08:02):
Teen Edition of Jesus Calling wherever.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Books are sold.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Our next guest is Jason Gray, a singer, songwriter and
now author. Jason grew up surrounded by music, but also
by instability, heartbreak, and silence. As a child navigating his parents' divorce,
he encountered wounds that would shape his voice, both literally
and spiritually. Today, Jason shares how music became his meeting
place with God, and how pain became a doorway rather
(08:34):
than a dead end, and how learning to be loved
changed everything.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
My name is Jason Gray, and I'm a singer, songwriter
and hopeful author. I grew up in Minnesota. I now
live in Nashville, Tennessee, and I also host the national
radio show for a serious XEM the message called Acoustic Storytime.
(09:04):
And I'm always on the road, so I'll probably be
in your neighborhood soon doing a concert or something. And
at the top here I feel like I want to
make people aware that if they've never heard me before,
I do suffer from a speech handicap known as stuttering.
(09:28):
There it is right there, So I just wanted people
to be aware of that, so you're not worried about me,
because I'm not nervous. It's just what I do. So
I didn't grow up in the church at all, but
I did grow up on the road with my mom's
rock and roll bar band. I did grow up around
a lot of music, so I suppose it's no surprise
(09:53):
that the first time that I heard God speaking to
me was through music. It was through a song by
the first group that I loved. My parents were in
the midst of a very ugly divorce, and that's where
my speech handicap first manifested. As I understand it, you
(10:17):
are genetically predisposed to stuttering, and then it usually waits
for some kind of traumatic event to trigger it, and
for me, it was the divorce of my parents, and
so that's the enduring scar that I have from that
time in my life. We were living at my grandparents'
(10:39):
house and I didn't have my own room, so I'm
sleeping on the couch every night. My grandpa was a
good man. He was a good man, he was my
best friend. But he was also an alcoholic, so there
was a lot of volatility, a lot of chaos. And
God knew how to cut through all of that and
(10:59):
speak the thing that he wanted me to hear in
the way that he knew that I could understand it.
So one day when I was out doing errands with
my grandpa, and it was January in Minnesota, so he
left the car running when he went into the liquor store,
and I'm sitting in the car and over the radio
comes a song by my favorite group, Simon and Garfunkle
(11:22):
Bridge over Troubled Water. And if you've never heard the song,
the lyric goes, when you're weary, when you're feeling small,
when tears are in your eyes, I will drive them
all like a bridge over troubled water. I will lay
me down for you. And I was a little boy
hearing those lyrics, and I was feeling all those things,
(11:46):
and all of a sudden, I had this profound sense
of a loving presence in the car with me, and
as though it was holding me, and it was saying, Hey,
the words of this song that you love so much,
this is my heart towards you when you're weary, when
you're feeling small, when tears are in your eyes, I
(12:06):
will drive them all like a bridge or a troubled water.
And I believed it, you know. And I didn't have
any context for that experience, Like, you know, nobody was
talking to me about God or interpret things songs spiritually
or anything like that. It's just an experience I had,
and the language for it would come many years later. So,
(12:35):
from a very young age, I was drawn to music
and it has always been one of the places that
I meet with God and one of the ways through
which He speaks. And so I remember as a third
grader walking home from school and having a sense, I
think I'm on planet Earth to do music. And I've
(12:58):
been pursuing that ever since. It's something I have pursued
in spite of myself. Quincy Jones, the producer, he said
that music is the voice of God, and that's what
I've experienced as well. I believe that when something connects
(13:18):
us to our own heart, then in that same moment,
worship spontaneously happens, and we are connected with the divine
in that moment. Music has a way of connecting me
to my heart and therefore brings me to the place
(13:39):
where God meets with me. Here's an author I love
whose work has been very formational in my Life's name
is Fredbiechner, and he talks about you can recognize the
holy places in your life by noticing when you lose
(13:59):
track of time. If you love it tinkering on a car,
or working in the garden, or listen to music or
conversation with a friend, those moments where you lose track
of time and you forget yourself indicates that you're on
holy ground. I think it's so beautiful right. It just
(14:22):
means we just have to pay a little bit of
attention and discover that we we're always stumbling on the
holy ground. The Lord has usually come to me through
other people. As inconsistent and as unreliable as we often are,
(14:47):
he demonstrates that we are still his preferred delivery system
for his love in the world. In the midst of
my divorce, that was laying on the bathroom floor at
three am, crying out to a God who I wasn't
(15:08):
sure if he was there anymore, because it seemed like
most time I was only here in a dial tone,
and I was afraid that my life that I'd always
felt he held was slipping through his hands. You know,
I'm just weeping, and all of a sudden, I hear
these quiet words in my spirit or what if this
(15:33):
is all right on time? It was just those words
right on time that I began to see how it
could be that everything that had happened my whole life,
all the painful things, everything was leading to this moment
(15:54):
to break me open enough to be able to receive
the transformation that I had been praying for for as
long as I could remember. And that gave me a
sense of peace and helped me to feel like I
was no longer at the mercy of the storms of
my life, but that this storm held within it the
(16:19):
power to make me who I'd always wanted to be,
you know. And it moved me from anxious resistance of
the trouble in my life to a kind of teachable acceptance.
And I was helpful, and that has stayed with me.
There was this one moment I was on tour. I
(16:40):
was in the back lounge of the tour bus with
my friend Andy calla Horn, and I was in the
worst of all the painful things that were happening in
my marriage, and he asked me how I was doing,
like he really meant it, and I just kind of
opened up to him and just just kind of told
him everything. And then I braced myself because I thought, Okay,
(17:01):
now he's going to start offering me answers by verses
or unasked for encouragement. Here it comes, you know, so
that he can feel useful. And he didn't do that,
and what he did instead became one of the most
healing moments in my life. He said, Okay, here's what
I want you to do, Jason. I want you to
stand up with me, and I'm going to hug you
(17:24):
and I'm going to hold you, and you have to
let me for two minutes. I stood up and Andy
hugged me and he was holding me, and at first
I was laughing just because I felt awkward, and then
I started crying, and then I started ugly crying, you know,
and then by the end I had just kind of
(17:45):
surrendered all of it, and I was slumped there in
the arms of my friend, who didn't say a word
but what he was saying was so clear. Right. He
was saying, You're loved, You're not alone, and everything's going
to be okay. And in that moment, that was the
embrace of God to me. I think there's a lot
(18:12):
of layers to how I've feeled from my anger. I
think first of all, I had to come to a
place of trust that I could bring my anger to God.
You know, a lot of my anger also arose from
(18:33):
ideas that I inherited about how God should conduct himself
and what I can expect from him. So a lot
of that was my own expectations. That's usually how it works,
right with God. With other people, it's our own expectations
that have created an opportunity for anger and resentment. When
(18:58):
somebody is hurting or angry, especially if they're angry with you,
the three most loving words you can speak or tell
me more. And what you want to do is you
want to get them talking and give them a safe
place to air their grievances. And in that moment, you
(19:20):
may be tempted to defend yourself or to explain yourself
or correct inaccuracies, and you can do that if you
want to, but then you will miss an opportunity for
some kind of healing that happens. And it's the curse
of futility, right that no matter what I do, it
(19:42):
will never be enough. It will be frustrated at every turn,
and it's only a hop, skip and a jump from
there too. No matter what I do, I'm afraid I'll
never be enough. And I think that that is the
core wound in every human heart. I'm afraid, no matter
what I do, I'll never be enough. And so I
(20:06):
think our sin comes in the ways that we compulsively
try to address that, you know, and deal with that,
because most of our sin, to me, looks like attempts
to assure ourselves that we're enough. Right, A person who
(20:26):
turns to pornography to enter a fantasy world where they
can imagine themselves wanted with no risk of rejection. Right
workaholism where I can prove my merit even if it
destroys my marriage, and I have no friends. All the
(20:46):
things that we do, you know, like if I, if
I look underneath them, it looks like I'm looking for
love in all the wrong places, right, which is that
old country song. But the antidote for all of that,
I believe is to run to Jesus, who says that
(21:09):
you're enough because I say so, and when I allow
him to, when I just let myself be radically loved.
I think that's the most radical thing that I can do,
is just to let myself be loved. And when I
do that and I'm reminded of who I am, all
(21:30):
those other compulsions fall away, right, And so I think
the antidote to all of my striving, my regret, my
insecurity is simply to turn to Jesus and see his
(21:51):
arms stretched out wide, and there I can see that, oh,
shoot he is that's my name. They're carved in the
palm of his hand. He loves me that much, and
then all those other things just kind of lose their
hold for me. When I was a young man, somebody
(22:11):
gave me a book called The Practice of the Presence
of God by brother Lawrence, and he was a monk
from like six hundred years ago, and the idea in
it was that you can stay in continual conversation with
the Lord. And I've tried to practice that, you know,
(22:31):
So if I'm watching a movie, I am in conversation
with the Holy Spirit about it. If I'm here in
a podcast or you know, I'm trying to always be
in communication with the Holy Spirit, to do it in
a more intentional way each day. The way that I
(22:54):
have observed how God works in my life is that
if I get connected to my own heart, all of
a sudden, He's meeting with me there. I think. I
think the Bible is beautiful and that it is meant
to be at least I experience it as training us
in wisdom and teaching us to recognize the voice of
(23:17):
God and to be a people who are spirit led.
It helps us to tune into the still small voice.
Now we can become afraid of the trust or the
discernment that that requires, and so we may exclusively rely
(23:41):
on Okay, it's like this. If I love the Bible
so much that I only allow God to speak to
me through it, rather than allowing it to train me
to be more in tune with the still small voice,
the voice of the Holy Spirit, then I've probably loved
(24:02):
it too much, and so try to use the Bible
to help me hear God speak to me in intimately
personal ways. I'm reading from Jesus Listens December twentieth, So
you have a guy with the speech handicap is not
(24:22):
going to read to you. You're welcome or here we go.
Gracious God, the Bible promises that those who wait for
you will gain new strength. I love to spend time
waiting in your presence, even though multitasking and staying busy
have become the norm. So I come to you with
(24:42):
my weariness and burdens, Being candidly real with you. While
I rest in your presence and tell you about my concerns,
you lift heavy burdens from my aching shoulders. I'm grateful
that you are able to do immeasurably more than all
I ask or imagine. As I arise from these quiet
(25:03):
moments with you, I delight hearing you whisper I am
with you, and I rejoice in the new strength gained
through spending time with you in your energizing name, Jesus Amen.
Speaker 1 (25:19):
To learn more about Jason Gray, visit Jason Gray dot
com and be sure to check out his new children's
book Sparrows at your favorite retailer. If you'd like to
hear more stories about how music can change our hearts,
check out our interview with No Big Deal Next time
on the Jesus Going podcast, we'll hear from former Atlanta
(25:41):
Falcons NFL player Tim Green, who opens up about his
life changing diagnosis of ALS and how God met him
in his suffering.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
I've always been driven in chasing the next accomplishment, but
there came a moment when I realized God wasn't interested
in my resume, he was interested in my heart. All
the roles I've played, athlete, author, commentator, at attorney were.
Speaker 3 (26:06):
All just different ways to serve.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
The turning point was understanding that my purpose wasn't about achievement,
it was about bringing glory to Him and loving people.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
Well.
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Thanks for listening to the Jesus Calling Stories of Faith
podcast on the Live Audio Network. Every week, we'll bring
you stories from people who share their journeys of faith
and how prayer and a relationship with God transformed their lives.
Be sure to follow us on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or
wherever you listen to podcasts, and leave us a review
(26:45):
so others can be inspired weekly by these stories of faith. Finally,
you can find encouragement resources and more on the Jesus
Calling website at Jesuscalling dot com.
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