At a time when anxiety and depression are reaching near “epidemic” levels, the Texas-based Christian band The Afters are empowering people to find refuge, peace and comfort in the “all-consuming goodness of God.”
“One of the most common phrases in the Bible is ‘Do not be afraid,’ yet doctors are saying this is the ‘age of anxiety,’” The Afters’ lead singer Josh Havens told The Christian Post. “We wanted to write songs that are anthems to sing over your life when it gets hard. God is real and present and has this all-consuming love that we so desperately need.”
The Afters band members Havens, Jordan Mohilowski, Matt Fuqua and Dan Osteb are gearing up for the release of their sixth studio album, Fear No More, dropping May 31. The album’s title track “Fear No More” includes the lines “You’re my strength ’cause I’m not strong enough to win this fight/You are greater than the battle raging in my mind/I will trust You, Lord.”
Those lyrics, Havens told CP, were birthed out of his own struggles with fear and anxiety.
“It’s something I’ve dealt with since I was a kid, and it got really bad about the time my dad passed away 15 years ago,” he shared. “There was a whole season of my life where my joy was robbed from me because of fear and anxiety. When my first child was born, I was lying awake, so consumed with worry and stress and I couldn’t shut it off.”
As the Dove Award-winning band began working on their latest album, Havens noticed that one of his band-mates seemed to be struggling in the same way.
“I could tell it was taking over his life,” Havens said, “and sure enough, he called me one day and said, ‘Josh, this is debilitating. It’s consuming me and creeping into my mind, and it’s messing with my health.’ So we decided to get together and write a song about trusting God. This is a song we need. It’s a song that’s empowering that we can sing in those moments we feel crippled by fear and anxiety.”
Since their formation in the late 1990s, The Afters have always had one goal: To write songs that are real and honest — and point listeners to God. Their latest album addresses the universal human experience of grief, brokenness, and the quest for belonging while directing listeners to the source of healing and strength.
The album’s opening track, “What Home Feels Like,” puts into words the “feeling we had after years of touring,” Havens said, adding: “home isn’t a physical location; it’s your community and family. We have that feeling of home every night when we sing to our fans all around the world. It’s shown us a new perspective of what home is.”
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SOURCE: Christian Post, Leah MarieAnn Klett
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