Occasionally – although not that often – an artist comes along who defies categorization. They are generally eclectic and have a song or two that hits the charts and then they are gone as quick as they appeared…
And then there is Jeremy Camp.
Before I knew anything about him I loved his music. It had feeling and emotion. One of my beefs with some music is that the sound doesn’t match the lyrics. This happens on both “sides” of the coin… powerful lyrics with wimpy sounds and great tunes with nothing to say. Jeremy Camp seemed to get them both right… and at the same time.
At first I heard him on Christian radio. Then (early in his career) a local youth group was hosting an intimate invitation-only acoustic concert with Jeremy. My wife and I were invited and felt some obligation to go… even though we still didn’t really know much about this guy.
After hearing his story of loss and the trials God has carried him through, it helped me understand that the reason his music was so powerful was because of these events that God had helped him through.
I bought that first CD. I was into every song (and that is not usual for me) almost immediately. They were not lyrics of a poet. They were not lyrics of a bitter man. They were written with honesty and sung with passion. My favorite is a song he wrote around the time of his first wife’s death. It’s called I Still Believe.
Scattered words and empty thoughts
Seem to pour from my heart
I’ve never felt so torn before
Seems I don’t know where to start
But it’s now that I feel Your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain
I still believe in Your faithfulness
I still believe in Your truth
I still believe in Your Holy Word
Even when I don’t see, I still believe
Though the questions still fog up my mind
With promises I still seem to bear
Even when answers slowly unwind
It’s my heart I see You prepare
But it’s now, that I feel, Your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain
I still believe in Your faithfulness
I still believe in Your truth
I still believe in Your Holy Word
Even when I don’t see, I still believe
Well the only place I can go is into Your arms
Where I throw to You my feeble prayers; well in brokenness
I can see that this was Your will for me
Help me to know that You are near
I still believe in Your faithfulness
I still believe in Your truth
I still believe in Your Holy Word
Even when I don’t see, I still believe
re:THINK 