The world lost an incredible talent and amazing young lady yesterday, but the heavenly choir gained another phenomenal voice. Christina Grimmie was a rare talent – a beautiful young lady with an amazing voice. She was also a dedicated Christian with a powerful testimony. As we mourn her death, Christians can take heart that they will see Grimmie again one day.
It’s not often that you find rising stars in the entertainment industry who are truly serious about their faith, but Christina Grimmie was a rare exception. Even a brief look at her social media accounts reveals that she wasn’t afraid to tell the world about Jesus. During her time on The Voice, Grimmie tweeted this:
Jesus Christ is the reason I can even sing. It's not my voice, it's His. And I will use it, win or lose, for His glory.
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) February 22, 2014
But she didn’t turn into a Christian in the spotlight. Her faith was a major influence in her life from the beginning. Two years before she made it onto The Voice, she posted this prayer on Twitter:
Jesus keep my way pure and in your Word, I want to be as positive as a role model I can be. http://t.co/u9tNZhjj
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) September 1, 2012
Her Twitter feed is full of praise to God and gratitude for His blessings in her life:
God is good, ALL THE TIME.
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) March 2, 2012
Giving God all the glory.
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) April 18, 2014
#MentionATrueFriend Jesus. What a friend we have in Christ.
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) November 12, 2013
Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Thank the Lord for His grace and mercy.
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) September 2, 2014
It’s hard to understand someone’s heart just by reading their Twitter feed, but those who knew Christina personally testify to her deep personal faith as well. T.J. Wilkins, who was also a competitor on The Voice, wrote: “What I’ll remember most about [Christina] is our conversation about faith and the love of Christ.”
Christina used the platform God had given her to share the Gospel with everyone she could, often in a powerful way. She recorded this cover of “In Christ Alone” on Easter Sunday back in 2012. If this doesn’t blow you away, I don’t know what will.
Underneath the video, Grimmie wrote, “JESUS CHRIST IS MY LORD AND SAVIOR and I’m not at all ashamed of it.” When she sang, “‘Till He returns, or calls me home / Here in the power of Christ I stand,” she had no idea that God would indeed call her home just four short years later.
Everywhere you look, Christina Grimmie left behind a powerful testimony. But perhaps the most powerful lesson comes from something she tweeted over 3 years before her death:
Sometimes God allows terrible things to happen in your life and you don't know why. But that doesn't mean you should stop trusting Him.
— Christina Grimmie (@TheRealGrimmie) February 21, 2013
As we all grieve over her passing, I pray that we will all remember that tweet. As Christina tweeted last August, “God has a plan for everything.” We may not know why He allowed Christina to be taken from us at such a young age. But that doesn’t mean we should stop trusting Him. According to Riley McDonough, a member of the band who was touring with Christina, a few of his family members prayed with Christina shortly before she was killed. The prayer closed with “God is good,” and Christina responded, “All the time.”
Christina Grimmie was an amazing young lady, and we all can learn so much from her short life. May God bless and comfort her friends and family with the assurance that Christina is now praising God with the angelic choir in heaven. That’s a sound I can’t wait to hear one day.
