Faith is one of those things that everyone has their own personal journey with. No matter if you've been a churchgoer for life, or have only just been introduced to being religious, one thing's true - it's never cut and dry.
Well, for country star Chase Rice, things have been changing. He's had a pretty evident shift over the past couple of years - stepping away from his original bro-country sound.
And he recently revealed the reasons why he made that pivot - per Whiskey Riff, it's to do with his faith. He opened up on an episode of the Take Back Ocala podcast.
Of course, the whole journey wasn't exactly easy. He traces his roots with Godliness back to 2017 or so. But it wasn't as simple as saying, "Yes, God, I want you". For the country star, years of addictions and shame and guilt stemming from a horrible sexual assault meant it was quite difficult for him at first.
But, he tries to keep himself grounded, he admitted. "When that shame creeps in, I talk to it," he explained. "I'm like, 'It's all good man... Nope, I choose Jesus, I choose Jesus right now.' When I do that, it's like the shame has no power."
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The Country Star Revealed He Didn't Want His Past to Define Him - He Wanted His Faith To
The country star also revealed that his past left him with a lot of fear, too. "I started being scared," he admitted. "'Oh s***, what if all of the sudden, I get famous, and people found out who I am?' The heart of who I am has always been good, but things that I've done have not been good in my life," he explained.
"For me, I had to live up to the character that I had created of this party guy. I can't sing about God, I can't do this, because I'm not worthy."
He even admitted that he "held his own career back" because of that notion. "I was scared of the success," he admitted. The country star added, "I just feel like it would have gone a lot differently, if I could have set all that stuff aside, focused on the music, focused on God and what he wanted me to do."
But, all in all, he's happy on the path he is now. "Redemption is a way cooler story than getting it right."
