How Tragedy Inspired Beloved Worship Song ‘How He Loves’

Published: October 2, 2025

worship, singing — Photo by Cordell Kingsley on Unsplash

By Kayla DeKraker

Christian singer and songwriter John Mark McMillan rose to fame over two decades ago with his song “How He Loves” and recently shared how life’s tragedies and God’s goodness continue to inspire his work today.

“When I was seven, I had this weird thing happen in vacation Bible school,” he told CBN in a recent interview. “The only way I can describe it is that it felt like the entire universe was in love with me.”

That experience ultimately led him to follow Jesus, join seminary and pursue music. His song “How He Loves” came about after a close friend died after a car accident.

“I actually started the song before he passed away,” he explained. “I had like a verse, But I played that verse for him. In my mind, it was like the last time I saw him alive. And after he passed away, I decided to finish that song, kind of as an homage to him.”

McMillan explained that friend’s death hit him harder than any others.

“I’d had people die, lost grandparents and stuff, but like, losing a young friend was, like, not a thing that was supposed to happen. And so…I was very tempted to think, God’s not a loving God. He would allow my best friend to die. And it was saying, I you know, I still believe your love of God.”

Just as the death of his friend inspired him to write that song many years ago, a recent tragedy sparked his most recent song, titled “Cosmic Supreme.”

“It was in a season when my father-in-law was passing away, he was dying,” he said. “He was fighting cancer. And in that season, life was really, really difficult. My mind started wandering. And while I was supposed to be working, I would start singing these, what I thought was kind of silly, childlike ‘pray for us.'”

He added, “Then, after my father-in-law passed away, I realized that I felt like God was giving me the songs that I needed, and I thought maybe other people, this might be helpful for them.”

Despite the losses McMillan has faced, he still believes in the goodness and love of God.

“If Jesus is the image of the invisible God, and Jesus is the God who embraces helplessness as a child, who embraces hard work as an adult, and then he embraces, you know, death, if He’s the God who embraces all those things…[He’s] also embracing my whole story, even the parts of it that I don’t like.”

This relates to 1 John 3:1, which says, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

McMillan concluded, “If Jesus embraces my whole story, then I can also embrace my whole story, and I can look back without shame, you know, and I can be okay with whatever it was and that is the cosmic supreme.”

While he stays busy writing new music, McMillan announced a few months ago that he’s wrapping up his touring career this fall.

“Music will always be a part of my life. I’ll participate in a few special events next year… but after this Fall tour, my touring days are finished, at least for the foreseeable future,” he wrote on Instagram.