The irony of hurt and healing

Hurt is something most of us experience at some point in our lives and some of it is of our own doing, but what MercyMe want people to remember is that there is also a healer.

The band behind church favourite "I can only imagine" are back with another album promising anthems, pop, and intimate moments of worship.

Their album, The Hurt and The Healer, is out on 22 May but anticipation is already building after the first single release - also called "The Hurt and The Healer" - debuted at No 2 on the iTunes Christian chart this week.

Lead vocalist Bart Millard described the album as a "celebration of that moment when these two worlds collide - the deep need for healing and the God who provides it".

"For whatever reason, God has called us to help people through the healing process, so as we began this project, we thought, 'do we even try to fight it, this is kind of who we are,' " Millard explains.

"The idea is to create an album to help bring healing to people, but not just healing; even in the midst of life's worst moments, there's this irony of feeling more alive than anytime before; that moment when we embrace our kids a little tighter and we reevaluate what's important in life.

"The whole album revolves around this common theme, but it's not all really heavy. We hope it helps people get to a better place in these moments that seem to cripple us at times."