CCM and country artist Anne Wilson says she hopes a new song released in recent weeks inspires fans to stand up for what is right and oppose wrong in a world that increasingly struggles to discern the difference.
That song, Stand, dropped in mid-September, encouraging listeners to "stand your ground" and "be brave in the face of fear" even "when the whole world's against" them. She declares in the faith-filled anthem: "I'm standing strong 'cause I know who's with me."
"I wanted to write a song about standing up for the things that I believe in," Wilson told Crosswalk Headlines. "When former President Trump was shot, it was a big awakening for me. Like, I can't believe that people are standing for this kind of thing -- regardless of what political side you're on.
"And so it fired me up to finish the song," she said.
"What does it look like to not follow the crowd or to not follow the media what they tell you -- but to follow what you believe in?" she said. "And for me, that's Jesus. How do I follow in His footsteps and ultimately stand up for the things that I believe in instead of just following what everybody else is doing?"
Wilson is in the middle of her 28-city Rebel tour, which includes selections from her old and new albums, including hits My Jesus, Strong, Rebel and Rain in the Rearview.
"I want to stand up for love in a world filled with hate, stand for peace where there's division, stand for my faith in God, and stand for the freedom we get to enjoy in this great country," she wrote on Instagram. "I want to stand proudly like a cross on a hill that stood for me, and I hope you do too!"
Her music, she said, is a mixture of country and Christian and "authentically me."
When asked what advice she would offer to Christians navigating a dark world, she responded, "I would say Jesus stood on a cross in such a powerful way and gave up His life, and the least that we can do is to stand up for our faith. And it's hard …but I feel like when you claim that boldness and you just step into it like the disciples did, then He's going to bless you abundantly for it."
WATCH: Anne Wilson - Stand (Official Performance Lyric Video)
Photo Credit: ©Instagram/annewilsonmusic
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.