If there’s a songsmith that understands heartache and pain, it’s Byron Cage, a man who has repeatedly reached the top in gospel music, only to be reminded time and again that the road to life’s mountaintops often goes through the valley.

Cage knows struggle well and his sixth CD, Faithful to Believe, is a joyous testament of praise after a season of trials — a soul-searching period when he took stock of his ministry, music and personal relationships.

“I was born into a family of ministers,” Cage says. “I always knew I had a God-given gift, a calling that I needed to maximize to the next level.” Cage has maximized the lessons he has learned during his career as a musician, gospel music chart-topper, Grammy nominee and Stellar Award winner, and reconciled them into his church-minded instincts and pulse for Sunday morning.

Born in Grand Rapids, MI, raised in nearby Detroit, and brought up in an environment where music and ministry were lived daily, at merely 4 years of age, he performed his first church solo. As a teenager, he was an accomplished saxophonist and choir director at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, Michigan. By the time he reached his late teens, he was a self-taught keyboardist.

Cage’s gifts were developed further through a season of touring and performing with gospel legend Thomas Whitfield. Cage then was given a full scholarship to Atlanta’s historic Morehouse College, where he studied the music he loved.

Cage’s 12-year tenure as Senior Minister of Church Worship and Administration at Ebenezer A.M.E. Church in Fort Washington, Maryland has impacted his music a great deal. “My music is so geared toward the church, I like songs that have the ability to be sung on Sunday morning and revivals and Bible studies,” Cage explains, “songs that choir directors can teach to their congregations throughout the year.”

In 2003, Cage catapulted to the big leagues of gospel music with his award-winning self-titled debut, followed by the breakout CD The Prince of Praise. Since that landmark disc, Cage released two subsequent albums — 2005’s Invitation to Worship and 2007’s Live at the Apollo: The Proclamation — all of which have ranked high on Billboard gospel charts and received numerous awards and nominations.

In the end, what matters most to Cage is that those teetering on the brink of despair can step out in faith and declare the sovereignty of the One who loved us first.

“I think the times that we live in have been so taxing on so many people,” Cage says. “People are going through extreme financial hardships — losing homes, losing jobs. I want people to receive a faith-building message, to remind them that God will supply all of their needs according to His riches and glory.”