By Gavin Boyle
Sonicflood singer Rick Heil shared how facing difficult news as a boy opened his eyes to the power of God and that realization the Lord holds everything in His hands.
“We’re all part of the body. We all have different gifts that He gives us to use to glorify Him and edify each other,” Heil said. “You know, going through hard stuff when I was a kid, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s [disease] when I was 11 years old. And, yeah, I did go through a season of depression, a season of just wanting to kill myself.”
He told the Alabama Baptist, “They took out a lot of my intestines throughout the years. I’ve had about six resections. You can’t grow intestines back. There’s also a lot of pain involved because the body is attacking the actual intestines, causing ulcers and fistulas and all kinds of nasty issues.”
But amid his physical ailments, God spoke to him.
“But I was lying in bed one day, and the Lord said, ‘I’ll always take care of you, no matter what happens, I’ll always take care of you,’” the singer recalled. “And so, it’s very rare that you hear that still, small voice, but that gave me hope that God is in control of everything.”
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That hope eventually allowed Heil to overcome the those difficulties, and eventually he served as the lead singer for the contemporary Christian band Sonicflood, through which he helps millions get to know Jesus better.
“Music was created by God, as was every instrument, to be used to bring Him glory,” Heil said, explaining why worship music is so powerful. “All throughout the scriptures we read how important music is to God and to His creation.”
Many other Christian musicians share a similar sentiment as they recognize how music has an innate ability to penetrate the soul. Grammy winner Michael W. Smith, for example, believes that music plays a vital part in every Christian’s walk because of how it connects listeners with the Lord.
“I see worship music as playing a very vital role in the relationship of believers with God,” Smith told actor Kirk Cameron. “I’ve heard some people say things like, ‘You know if you’re gonna make movies you’ve got to make movies with this great story but don’t preach the gospel in the middle of the movie that’s not real movie making.’ And I’ve heard similar things with songs. People will say, ‘Well you know that worship music, that’s not really the same as a great crafted song and you’re giving these repetitive lyrics for people to say things to God.’ But I think it is a unique genre that is critical.”
Music is certainly a wonderful tool that the Lord has given us to connect with Him and sing His praises. It is encouraging to see how those who write the songs we sing in church truly believe what they are writing and affirm the power of the Lord.
Read Next: Michael W. Smith Talks About Why Worship Music is so Powerful
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