There’s no one-size-fits all solution to our trials, but there is a God big enough, good enough, and loving enough to accommodate our weakness in the midst of them.
That reality — that God meets us at the center of our pain — has been the anthem of Christian recording artist Jeremy Camp’s life, which is currently getting the Hollywood treatment and will be on the silver screen next year.
Speaking to Faithwire on Friday, release day for “The Story’s Not Over,” his 11th studio album, the 41-year-old singer said, in his trials, when disbelief came knocking, he learned to approach God with humility and reminded himself that God isn’t scared of our questions.
To those battling doubt, Camp said, turn to Scripture.
“All throughout the Bible, we get to see who Jesus is,” he explained. “He says, ‘I’m the provider; I’m your comfort; I’m your shepherd; I’m your shield; I’m your refuge; I’m living water; I’m the way, the truth, and the life.’ All this stuff is a byproduct of who Jesus is. He is the only hope and the only truth and he is everything you need. So what do you need? Well, look throughout the Bible and you’ll see the names of Jesus. That’s who he is.”
Camp said his newest record is a reflection of God’s “faithfulness and grace” in his life after a season of deep personal struggle.
About a year and a half ago, Camp said he and his wife, Adrienne, went through a “really hard” time in their lives, punctuated by a serious panic attack that left the singer bedridden for a short time. He was also working on the forthcoming Erwin Brothers’ movie, “I Still Believe,” which chronicles the tragic death of Camp’s first wife, Melissa, who passed away only six months into their marriage after battling cancer.
“It just brought back old fears in my heart,” Camp explained, noting he had to battle with bitterness and anger in his own life and come to a place of realizing he hadn’t been trusting God with life’s trials.
That difficult season birthed a handful of songs on his new album.
“I was just very honest on this record,” Camp said. “The songs ‘Father,’ ‘Out of My Hands,’ ‘Only You Can,’ ‘Wilderness’ were all songs birthed out of that situation. And there’s a part in the song ‘Father’ that said, ‘I’m right on the verge of a breakdown,’ just being very open and honest. I think people need to realize they’re not alone, and that there’s hope, and it’s running to Jesus.”
Camp had been there before — when Melissa passed away. And it was God who pulled him out of his unbelief, who calmed his questioning heart, and comforted him in his despair.
The singer soon realized he could either run from God and toward the source of the problem, our broken and imperfect world, “or literally run to the source of only true hope, and that’s Jesus.”
“You know what, we all go through hard times and I can’t imagine not having Jesus in my life,” Camp said. “He’s my only hope.”
Camp’s new album, “The Story’s Not Over,” is available now.