Christian singer Lacey Sturm says that being an atheist made her more selfish

Lacey Sturm says that being an atheist made her selfish.

Christian singer Lacey Sturm grew up as a Christian, but tragic events in her life prompted her to question God's purpose and for a few years, she became an atheist.

She told Breathe Cast in an interview that she was raised in a loving home and she believed that God was "powerful, loving and good." But after suffering many ordeals and tragically losing her cousin, Sturm decided to let go of her faith.

During that time, Sturm felt that she became more selfish and she only cared about associating with people who could enhance her life.

"It's a rollercoaster to find out the difference between right and wrong," she admitted.

Sturm struggled with morality and finding out her purpose in life, and she could not help but feel that her life was empty and meaningless without God. She even contemplated suicide several times, but thankfully did not go ahead with it.

The singer might have turned her back on God at that time, but God never let go of Sturm for a second and He worked hard to save her.

Sturm revealed that she had an "encounter" with God that reawakened her love and faith in Him. "The first thing I recognised is that God is good...so good we have to use the word holy. He's so beyond good that I could never even touch that," she said.

Sturm's journey back to her faith is all detailed in her new book called The Reason: How I Discovered a Life Worth Living. She said that sharing her past mistakes and struggles is new territory for her, but she hopes that it can be used to change lives.

"God took my experiences and crashes and turned them into something surprising, something magnificent: joy," Sturm writes in her book. "When we give God our lives, we become our truest selves."