“Forgiveness isn’t condoning what happened. It’s choosing not to let it destroy you anymore. … I forgave my dad more times than I can count, and I’ll probably keep forgiving him forever.”

Those are the beautiful words from Stephen McWhirter. You might not know McWhirter's name, but you do know his songs. Especially one of them. That’s because he’s the man behind the incredibly gripping worship anthem “Come Jesus Come,” recorded by CeCe Winans and eventually country superstar Cody Johnson.

But that's just a small part of a much bigger story. That story? It starts at a young age when McWhirter's father, a successful preacher loved by everyone, would beat his mother. The man who would praise God in the morning would punch his mom in the evening. How do you make sense of that?

The way so many of us do: we try to escape it. Numb it. Blur it out.

That’s exactly what McWhirter did. Despite his Christian upbringing, he ran hard into a life of drugs and alcohol starting at a young age. He needed to do all he could to drown the hypocrisy. The confusion. The images. Until one night, he couldn’t run anymore and God met him in the most unlikely way.

In this episode, McWhirter tells his unedited story from bitterness, to addiction, and ultimately to forgiveness. Along the way, he also tells the unlikely story behind Come Jesus Come—a song born out of longing for Christ’s return that later found a wider audience through Winans and Johnson—and explains how that longing reshaped the way he lives in the present. This is a conversation for anyone who has ever tried to run from God, and for anyone longing for things to be made right.

Looking for a one-stop recovery resource? Learn more about the Tyndale Life Recovery Bible by visiting https://hubs.la/Q041HjWm0.

We explore:

— How spiritual hypocrisy can fuel addiction and rebellion
— Growing up with abuse behind the scenes of public faith
— Addiction as self-destruction, numbness, and unresolved rage
— Encountering Jesus in the middle of active drug use
— Why forgiveness is necessary even when reconciliation isn’t possible
— The repeated, ongoing nature of true forgiveness
— Repentance as an invitation to freedom, not punishment
— Why hiding always leads to deeper bondage
— Why recovery aimed only at sobriety will never be enough
— What it means to become fully alive in Jesus

Get Stephen's new book: Radically Restored: How Knowing Jesus Heals Our Brokenness
Stephen's Instagram: @stephenmcwhirter
Follow me: @jonseidl
Order my new book, Confessions of a Christian Alcoholic
Get the Tyndale Life Recovery Bible: https://hubs.la/Q041HjWm0

Support the Show: https://www.jonseidl.com/

Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.