Finding God in the Unexpected
A God Story from Apollo LTD’s “DNA”
Adam Stark and Jordan Phillips, the hearts of Apollo LTD, shared an experience with Family Life Radio about finding God in the unexpected. The story of their song “DNA” is a melody that became much more than notes and lyrics, but a divine whisper in the midst of pain.
There’s something profoundly mysterious and beautiful about the way music can weave into the narrative of our lives, bringing comfort and connection when we least expect it.
Adam and Jordan were talking about kids a lot during the writing of the song. “It is actually when [Jordan] and his wife got pregnant,” Adam says. “And then my wife and I found we were pregnant six months later. So, both of us were expecting our firstborn child when we wrote the song called ‘DNA’. It’s about the vertical perspective of being a father, but also, the horizontal perspective.”
As Jordan and Adam embarked on the journey of fatherhood, they poured their anticipation and wonder into the song “DNA.” Little did they know, this song would become a vessel of hope for a family they had never met.
The Power of Creativity as a Gift from God
The song was born from the raw joy and fear that comes with becoming a parent. “In the bridge of that song, we sang this melody and had no words to it. We were singing ‘oi’ and the sound just came out” Adam continues. “We thought we’d write lyrics to this eventually, and we just never did.”
Adam said, “So, it stayed this syllable of ‘oi,’ just true rock and roll. It’s like, you can just sing whatever you want. It sounds good. It had reverb on it.”
The bridge of the song was a powerful “oi” that resonated with an unexpected significance.
As believers, we’re called to pour out our talents, to paint, write, sing and live out loud the gifts He has entrusted to us. We are stewards – not owners – of the creativity that flows through us. And when we offer our gifts back to God, we often find them touching lives in ways we could never have crafted on our own.
The Unseen Plan of God
The unexpected connection between “DNA’s” melody and a child’s rare bone condition—known by the abbreviation “OI”—speaks volumes about the unseen plans of God. And God’s intentions are to prosper us and not to harm us, to give us hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrased). This promise stands, even when our path seems scattered with more questions than answers.
Apollo LTD created a song that held a message they didn’t fully understand at the time, only to realize later that it was a piece of a puzzle fitting perfectly into someone else’s life.
God is weaving a tapestry of our experiences, and while we only see the threads, He sees the finished work.
The Comfort in Shared Experience
When the mother of the child with OI reached out to share her story, she created a bridge of shared experience. Her testimony shared nearly a year after the song’s release echoed the truth that our stories, especially those marked by suffering, have the power to connect and comfort.
Adam says, “We get this message on Facebook or Instagram from a mother who’s found this song. And she said, ‘I have got to tell you the story. We discovered the song, and the lyrics of the song literally made me break down crying when I first heard them. The chorus was talking about even if my bones, that break, nothing can separate. Like, you’re in my DNA.’ And she said ‘My child has a bone disease. It’s a disease that turns her bones like jelly. She basically has thousands of little micro fractures all over her body.’ So obviously, functionality is really difficult for her. And she said, ‘and this song has just spoken to my family. I showed my husband, and [the song] has been on repeat. It’s just blessed us.’”
“And she said, ‘It’s been three months that we’ve been listening to the song, and I just realized the letters O, I in the bridge [is] the abbreviation for the disease that our daughter has.”
The mother’s testimony was a profound reminder of God’s presence. Even when the melody of our lives is in a minor key, there is a closeness to God that can only be found in the valleys of our human experience.
Jordan adds, “My wife and I sat in a deli. We were on vacation in Connecticut visiting family. And I read this email and we just sat and we cried.”
As the band reflected on the message they received, they saw beyond the music to the message—God was using their artistic offering as a balm for a broken heart. In our own trials, this story encourages us to seek the face of God, knowing that He is not a distant observer but a present help.
“That is bigger than us,” Jordan shared.
Apollo LTD reminds us of the beauty and interconnectedness of God’s plan. It’s a call to pour out the creativity He has placed within us, to trust in the unseen workings of His hands, to find solace in our shared experiences and to be attentive to the divine intersections of our lives.
“It’s like that song and that moment was meant for that person well over a year after we released that song,” Adam remarks. “It’s just such affirmation that He’s working behind the scenes, and He has a plan. That’s honestly the motivation to keep writing music that it can bless people and help people.”
In the end, the music of our lives—the acts of service, the creations we birth, the love we share—are all part of a grander symphony that He is composing. Each of us plays a unique part, and together, we create a harmony that speaks of His goodness and grace.
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