Me, Cody Banks, and Sam Hancock

I stood with people I had never met before. Some had tears streaming down their cheeks, some had their faces tilted to the sky, some were on their knees in prayer, and some (like me) couldn’t stop from smiling. Although our responses were different, we were united by the same desire to worship and praise our Father. I attended Soul Stock this past Saturday with my family in Decatur, AL. It is a free Christian music concert and when I found out the group Mike’s Chair would be performing at this venue, I was super excited as I have been so blessed by their ministry.
The band Luminate,who I had never heard of, played before Mike’s Chair and I became an instant fan. My spirit was stirred by the testimonies they shared in between songs, their obvious passion for the Lord, and the authenticity contained within the lyrics. The third song they sang was, “Healing in Your Arms.” It immediately resonated with me because the songs speaks of not letting fear and doubt get in the way of trusting God and claiming the healing we can only find in His arms.
After the band finished playing, Sam Hancock (the lead singer) mentioned they would be available to talk and answer questions. He and fellow band member Cody Clark stood in the unbearable heat just as they promised. When it was my turn, instead of just taking a picture and saying thank you like everyone else, I wanted to know the story behind the song that had so deeply impacted me. (To those who were waiting behind me in line, I’m sorry my turn took forever.)
I was completely unprepared for their response. About two years ago, Cody began experiencing numbness in his feet that went up his legs, torso, and arms. It eventually affected his ability to play the guitar. He was traveling on the road at the time with the band and was treated by a chiropractor for a few months and the numbness thankfully went away.
About a month ago though, the mysterious numbness returned and after seeing a neurologist and having an MRI scan of the brain, the doctor diagnosed Cody with multiple sclerosis. Cody shared his thoughts after receiving this bad news. “There’s this fear in the back of my head. How bad can it get? I never imagined I would be hearing something like that. At least not at this point.”
Cody ends up calling his mentor. His mentor points out, “Bro, I’m not trying to laugh at you, but I find it kinda funny. All I hear coming out of your doctor’s mouth are words like incurable, lifelong, and words like that. Do you realize how opposite those words are from God’s truth?”
Cody shares God is teaching him, “Our circumstances can change at any second and if I am only trusting in my circumstances, those can waver. The moment my circumstances change, my trust becomes fickle.”
Sam explains that when writing the lyrics for Healing In Your Arms , he was viewing them as dealing with overcoming bitterness or other strongholds that can wound us not realizing for Cody the lyrics would also speak of needing God’s physical healing. Sam mentions how God has changed the band’s outlook on the song in light of Cody’s diagnosis. He says, “Wow, God is teaching us the lyrics to our song. It’s trusting Christ no matter what the circumstance is. Live out your purpose and trust that I (God) have the best interests for you. Something that’s really put me in perspective is Christ promised, ‘I am the healer.’ Whether it is today or tomorrow or when we enter into His Kingdom, we will be healed.”
No wonder that song so resonated with me. It was written by people going through the same day to day struggles we all face. For Sam it is needing healing from bitterness, for Cody it is needing healing to deal with a scary diagnosis, for me it is needing strength to daily battle chiari and muscular dystrophy, for you it is _______________________ (fill in the blank). Some of us will experience physical healing here on earth, but all of us will experience healing when we see Christ. What a promise!!

“and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”Revelation 21:4-5a NAS

“I’m waking up. I’m breaking out. I’m leaving behind the fear and doubt. I’m letting go, I’ll trust and fall ’cause I know there’s healing in your arms.” Luminate

 Healing In Your Arms Video and Lyrics