Sonicflood: Glimpse into the Father's heart

I caught Sonicflood live at Sonicfest 2005 last nite. They were certainly worth the wait...the heat, the teeny boppy crowds etc. I was absolutely blown away, totally impressed and inspired by them. So inspired, I came home and wrote a song abt resting in His love, in 90mins (that has never happened before...so naturally).

Sonicflood was superb musically...they were so tight as a band, and so creative in their song arrangements! Plus not only did they know how to totally rock out, but they also had a whole load of heart. They drove home that point....and they emphasized that it's impt to see beyond the music, cos it is so much deeper than tt. Awesome!

In fact, it wasn't the music that was the most memorable for me, but hearing them share their testimonies. After hearing tt, the music really seems to come from a real place.

Here's frontman, Rick Heil's testimony in print (taken from their website). Not as good as hearing it live, but you get the rough idea of his journey. I was really moved by it. n it reminded me once again....to check the perspective of God that I was carrying.

Try to read all the way to the end of the article below. The part abt them opening up his stomach wall, and him having to do post-op breathing exercises, n learning how to sing all over again really made me drop my jaw. Or mebbe it's just me, cos i see it from the vocal coach's perspective.

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The follow-up to 2003’s Cry Holy, This Generation (2005) sees Sonicflood entering a new season that includes welcoming new players, a season that frontman Rick Heil hopes will lead people to a definitive understanding that God’s heart is truly good.

It sounds obvious. After all, we learn about God’s goodness from our earliest days in Sunday school. “But in today’s Church, we have a tendency to doubt our Father’s heart,” Heil says. “Satan’s first lie was that God is holding back and He doesn’t care about us the way He says He does. Satan planted that seed of doubt in mankind back in the Garden.” Through the songs of This Generation, Heil & Co. hope to help uproot that seed.

This is also a season of celebration for Heil as he rejoices over being healed from Crohn's disease, a painful intestinal disorder he’s lived with for years. “Normally, you have it for life,” Heil explains, “but I was in the hospital in March and one of the top surgeons went through all my intestines and said there was no disease to treat.”

For so many years, Heil praised God through the pain. Now he’s thrilled to celebrate the way the Lord has given him back his health. No matter how he’s doing physically, though, Heil knows it’s easy to give in to doubt, to believe that God doesn’t have our best interests at heart.

“It’s something I struggled with throughout this illness and through relationships that have gone awry,” he admits. “When we buy into that, it’s easy to start blaming God for the pain or hurt in our lives.” That’s why Heil hopes that everyone who listens to This Generation will begin to truly trust God’s promise that He has a plan to prosper us and not harm us.

“I think worship is the strongest tool we have in fighting those negative messages,” Heil says, adding, “You are what you’re filled with. The great thing about music is it is always available. If you feel overwhelmed by this life, you can crank up the tunes and let the Lord minister to you and get refocused.”

The doctor who treated Heil in Spring 2004, when his Crohn’s disease all but disappeared, was a Christian physician aptly named Dr. Church.
- Even with most evidence of Crohn’s disease gone, Heil still had some recovering to do after his last surgery. During the procedure, they opened up his entire stomach wall. As a result, breathing exercises were just part of a post-op regimen that found Heil in his basement, learning how to sing all over again.