Saturday, August 12, 2006

When Jeremy Camp was just 23, he suffered a tragedy that would shake the foundation of any man's faith: He lost his wife, Melissa, to cancer. They had been married less than a year.

Instead of being overcome by his circumstances, Jeremy, a worship leader, focused on God. In the midst of his grief, in the center of the storm, Camp could still hear God speaking to him. And better yet, he actually listened.

"I fell to the floor just sobbing," he remembers. "I was so confused; I didn't understand anything. But in that moment, God spoke to my heart. He said, "I want you to stand up and worship Me right now."

So I stood up, even though I didn't feel like worshiping at all, and God said, "I will be with you through this. I want you to know that I am worthy to be praised."

In that moment, Jeremy began to understand a whole new meaning of walking by faith. "When there's something that you want and believe in so much, trusting that God will do it and for some reason, He chooses not to give it to you," he says, "that's when you walk by faith. You decide to still trust that God knows what He's doing."

Born out of that trust, and his obedience, is an amazing testimony.

"It's one thing when God does something amazing, and then you praise Him," Jeremy believes. "It's another when you're in a very dark time, when you see no hope, and you still rejoice and praise God. Because no matter what, He is worthy."

"I Still Believe", is the first song Camp wrote, just weeks after the death of his wife.

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

He made that song his anthem. He returned to leading worship, and felt God calling him to encourage others. Again, Jeremy obeyed, and God opened many doors on the path of encouragement, which resulted in a record deal with Tooth & Nail Records.

His first album, Stay, was released in September of 2002. Musically, it follows the same pattern as any modern rock album. It is upbeat and primarly guitar-driven. It was his lyrics, however, that caught my attention. He seems to have opened his heart and poured it all over the album liner. The words are those of a grieving husband, trying to make sense of his loss, falling at the feet of Jesus to simply say, "I know you understand it all."

You hear me when I call
You're there when I fall
You hear me when I call
I know you understand it all
So why don't I get back on my feet again

Back on his feet again, indeed. Jeremy has since released two more albums, "Carried Me: The Worship Project", in the spring of 2003, and most recently, "Restored", which hit the shelves this past November. In his personal life, Jeremy has since fallen in love and married former "The Benjamin Gate" singer, Adrienne Liesching, and together they have a daughter, born last fall.

How's that for a happy ending? Perhaps the best part is that this isn't the ending at all, merely the beginning for Mr. Camp, and yet remarkable to see all of the lives he has touched already.

Including mine.