Below are the songs of Third Day's album Wherever You Are (2005), explained by the men of Third Day themselves. Read what the songs mean to them, why they wrote them, and how they feel when they perform these songs.
Tunnel : (Track 1)
We've all walked in the darkness at one time or another. If you're like me, finding Christ didn't necessarily change that, well at least not yet! We all go through times of struggle whether it be some sort of sin or perhaps something totally out of our control, like the death of a loved one, or the loss of a job. Whatever it may be, no one on earth can really identify with your personal situation other than yourself, and that makes it twice as hard to have hope. The good news is that God loves us despite the present situation we may find ourselves in. In fact, I believe he uses those experiences in a very profound way to shape us into his likeness. We have hope in Jesus because he has plans to prosper us, not to harm us; plans to give us a hope and a future.
Tunnel is a song that speaks of that hope, that light, that grace that leads us out of the darkness and back into vibrant living. "Keep Holding On..." is the tag line after each chorus and those three words, when coming from the right source, can sometimes mean more than entire volumes of self help reading or clever sermons. When we're told what to keep holding on for and we believe in it, that phrase has power and meaning. Besides we don't have a high priest that is unable to sympathize with our weakness. And the icing on the cake in my experience is that even when I can't keep holding on He keeps holding on to me and get this, he ain't letting go!
Eagles : (Track 2)
Sometimes we find ourselves fighting life's battles with both arms tied behind our backs. Yet determined to not back down, we trudge on head first into war. We forget our enemies weakness and we battle on foot, on his turf, and by his rules. Eventually we are driven to our knees and unable to pull ourselves up.
God never intended it to be this way. He created us to soar like eagles. Why? Eagles fly higher than their enemies, and build their nests far out of the reach of their predators. Eagles are equipped with two sets of eyelids, one of which functions like sunglasses. When being chased by their enemy, they fly straight into the direction of the sun, blinding their predator. When being pursued by our opponent, we too should soar higher, straight towards the Son.
I love how melancholy the song begins with almost a "Theme from M.A.S.H." mood and texture. It leaves the listener searching and wondering before busting wide open with hope and renewed energy. This song has an infectious groove, compliments of Tai's ferocious bass pulse. Don't be afraid to turn up the sub-woofer.
Cry Out To Jesus : (Track 3)
We have come along way since we first started, and we have been through a lot as both individuals and as a band during the 11+ years we've been together. We have grown from young bachelors with hardly a care in the world in to happily married "mature" men with many children and responsibilities. The one thing that I have grown to realize is that not only do I have more burdens and responsibilities, but I am able to see and understand how others have the same burdens and trials. When you are younger, you know that they are there, but you can't fully understand their impact until you are older.
As a band, we have had many friends and family who have experienced significant hardships and loss over the past couple of years...so a song like this was a natural extension of what we have been going through. In each verse of Cry Out To Jesus, there are specific people in my mind... when I sing each line...they are directly connected with someone I know. My hope is that you are able to also connect personally to each verse through your own experiences. Not only do we all know these people, but we are these people. In those times of trial, I hope that we can remember that we can find our strength, peace and hope when we cry out to Jesus.
I Can Feel It : (Track 4)
Song ideas can come from all kinds of different places. Some of my favorites have been those which have been sparked by conversation. The idea for "I Can Feel It" came from a conversation I was having with some friends about the Holy Spirit. One of them was sharing about how he's seen the Spirit show up in different ways at different times. This was one of those concepts that didn't quite make sense to me at first, but on thinking about it, it had to make sense. This song reflects my desire to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to the point that I can both "feel" it showing up and also have a sense of how it's showing up. I look forward to playing this one live because it could serve as a cool invocation for the Holy Spirit to come down and be a part of our show. It's interesting that an old-school Pentecostal song like "I Can Feel It" can appear on the same record as a more liturgical song like "Communion". This goes along with the message of unity we've been talking about since the Come Together days. We come from different denominational backgrounds and traditions. Rather than bicker about those differences, we can learn from each other and be the Body of Christ we are called to be.
Musically, this song reminds me of something we would've done ten years ago. It's kind of cool to get to the point where you can rip yourself off...
Keep On Shinin' : (Track 5)
When we first started touring, it was a rare Sunday that we would be able to attend our home churches. As we've attempted to balance our home and road lives over the last couple of years, we've made it a point not only to attend church whenever we get the chance, but to be actively involved in what's going on. If you've been remotely paying attention, it's pretty apparent that God has been doing some cool things through the church over the last couple of years. This song is a song of encouragement to the church, both as a whole and to the average guy sitting in the pew on Sunday morning.
The first verse focuses on the church at large. I recently read a book by Hugh Hewitt called "The Embarrassed Believer" (the other guys are probably tired of hearing me talk about it by now, but trust me - it's really good). In it, he points out that there are literally millions of people attending churches on a given week and that the culture should be feeling the effects of that. In the years since the book was published, we've seen many brave souls look for new ways to take the Gospel beyond church boundaries. This is where the "millions of voices singing new choruses" line comes into play.
But sometimes it's "easier said than done". Life happens. Things don't work out like we planned. Like John Lennon said, life is what happens to you while you're making other plans. It's easy at times like these to beat ourselves up and throw in the towel. But if we could see ourselves as God sees us, we'd see that we don't give ourselves nearly enough credit. In God's eyes, we're "a miracle, anything but typical". Faith is a response to God's love for us. When you realize that He sees us in that light and loves us unconditionally, it makes you want to "keep on shinin’" wherever you are or whatever you're going through.
Communion : (Track 6)
Two of the songs on the CD were inspired by the movie "The Passion of the Christ": "Communion" and "Carry My Cross." I wanted to have a song that served as a reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus had gone through and of our need for that sacrifice. That’s where "Communion" came from.
Musically, we wanted to write this song as a tool for the church to use in worship. It was meant to be a simple song (just 1 verse) that could be used in churches, Bible studies, or cell groups and with just a guitar/piano and a few chords/notes, so everyone could worship together.
The song makes me think of the story from John 17 where Jesus was in the garden before he was crucified. He prayed to the Father to unite His followers together and to himself, just as He and His Father are united. So, when we participate in communion, we not only unite with the Father, but we also come together with our brothers and sisters' in communion.
Carry My Cross : (Track 7)
We all have crosses to carry. Maybe it's the guilt of sin. Maybe it's a loss or temptation. Maybe it's a personal or emotional affliction. The weight of those burdens can keep us paralyzed. Jesus carries them for us. But that's not all. Though we will always have struggles, God gives us not just another burden. God gives us a yoke that is light. We can side up with His kingdom and be a part of the incredible tale of human history with a unique and meaningful purpose.
How Do You Know : (Track 8)
Criticism can be a nasty thing. We've all been on the giving and receiving ends of it, and even for the giver it's never pretty. However, it's amazing how critical believers can be of one another at times. It's as if when we receive salvation, we are given the authority to hold everyone around us accountable, according to our own personal convictions and ideals. Sometimes we can give off the impression that we "know it all"!
Dealing with criticism is never easy and How Do You Know asks the question, "how do you know what I'm supposed to be doing". The tone of the chorus lyrics might give off a bit of a sharp attitude but the real expression of the song is a simple, honest question: "how DO you know?" It's not to say that the line between sin and righteousness needs to be blurred but often times, there is more than one righteous, Godly response or action to take, i.e: do I take this job, or that job?; should we put our kids in public school or home school them?; should we take our music to the mainstream audience or stay where it's safe? These are just a few examples of questions that no one but God and ourselves can really work out. Our job as fellow believers is to pray for one another and ask God to impart his wisdom to his saints. The high horse of legalism and piousness needs to be led to the water and drowned. When that happens, the freedom of God's grace as expressed through the church will change the face of our culture.
Mountain of God : (Track 9)
We've all had those mountaintop experiences. You feel so close to God. You can see for miles. Visions galore. Then life happens, the valley, the struggles. We often think that the valley is a consequence for the sin of our life. But, maybe it's just our life. We're all promised struggle. We all experience suffering. The hope that we have is wonderfully expressed in this song. "You were there with me." We don't have to go through the inevitable trials of life on our own.
Mac had penned this song a few years ago. This was the time to get it out with a little 3D juice. Much thanks to Ashley Cleveland for taking the song up a notch. Did we go too far with the key change at the end?
Love Heals Your Heart : (Track 10)
Everyone gets a tiny taste of love sometime in their lives that serves as a picture of what could be. Energizing, purifying, and freeing. Suddenly, in one fatal moment, life happens and fragments of hope scatter. Scrambling to protect ourselves, we construct a fortress to shelter our battered hearts. What was built to keep us safe eventually becomes our prison. When we realize our need to escape, we find ourselves institutionalized and unable to engage. That's when Love busts through the walls and sets us free.
The Sun is Shining : (Track 11)
In a time of loss, a friend shared Psalm 30:5 with me, which says that sorrow lasts through the night but joy comes in the morning. We were working at a YMCA camp in '94 when one of my best friends unexpectedly died. We all know that death is inevitable; however it is sobering when it comes unexpected at an early age. Even though I realized that my friend was a believer and that he was in a better place, of course there was still much sorrow. Hearing the word of that verse, it brought peace to know that through our trials God will make us stronger. We must not forget the ultimate hope that he offers us.
This is a song that we almost didn't record because musically it was so different than where the album was headed. Thankfully, Blaine Barcus, our A & R rep at the label, kept reminding us that we should try to work on it. So, once we were done working on the initial batch of songs, we all agreed that we should finish it, and we are all quite happy that we did!
Rise Up : (Track 12)
It sometimes feels as if "real life" is about how we deal with whatever is thrown our way while we journey on..... on through the triumphs, on through the failures, and on through the status quo. Real life. It is so hard to move on with it when we feel so dead inside. Every ounce of energy depleted every ray of hope gone, every thing empty. But there exists a voice. One that our hearts recognize. One that calls us out of our tomb, and revives our hope, and restores our strength. "Rise Up" and "keep going" He shouts. This is not the end. We have only just begun.
We decided that this song would be a great way to finish the record. It wraps up the message of hope that we are striving to communicate, and the truth that God will meet you Wherever You Are. It again is a song that begins with melancholy emotion and than erupts into a liberating charge and anthem that sends you on your way, ready to embrace all that "Real Life" has to offer.
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