Singer and songwriter Johnny Cash spent a large chunk of his musical career struggling with drugs and alcohol, but his faith gave him strength to overcome the addictions.
Now in his book, "Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon," author and pastor Greg Laurie takes a closer look at Cash's life and devotion to his faith.
"He was raised in a Christian home," Laurie told Fox News. "He had lapses in his faith. He returned to it. He fell again. He got on his feet again."
Cash first started taking amphetamines early in his career, during the 1950s, and soon grew addicted to them. Author Julie Chadwick, who chronicled the lives of Cash and his manager, told the Daily Mail that the musician was eventually knocking back 100 pills a day, which he washed down with beer.
Then in 1965, he was arrested for smuggling amphetamines from Mexico. It was not long after that Cash decided to clean up his life.
In an article written in November 1970, the "Ring of Fire" singer and songwriter recalled how it was an extract from the bible that inspired his recovery, according to Guideposts. The verse came from I Corinthians 6:19.
"Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" the verse reads.
Cash managed to overcome his addiction and went on to live a full life, eventually passing away in 2003 at age 71 from diabetes. Things could have ended differently but Cash's faith guided him, Laurie said.
"The reason that Johnny has not joined the pantheon of rock stars who died of drug overdoses or alcohol abuse is because he knew where to turn when he was in trouble, and he turned to the Lord," Laurie said. "Sinners thought he was a saint. Saints thought he was a sinner. The reality is, he was both."
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