Photo by Zac Durant
When I grew up, this was a band whose music filled the home of one of my church buddies. MercyMe has been around since 1994, releasing a whopping 17 albums! They are at it again with this hit “Even if”. How will this song stack up against The Berean Test?
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Mercyme-even-if-lyrics.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.
1. What message does the song communicate?
At the beginning of the song, he’s feeling down. His faith is low. He knows that God can save him “through the flame”, yet, if God chooses not to rescue him, his hope is still in God. He is asking for God to give him strength to continue to sing.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
All of it is Scriptural.
[Verse 1]
They say sometimes you win some
Sometimes you lose some
And right now, right now I’m losing bad
I’ve stood on this stage night after night
Reminding the broken it’ll be alright
But right now, oh right now I just can’t
MercyMe is broken in some way, though vague about its details. They feel unable to equip others because they are down themselves. We receive more hints along the way.
[Pre-Chorus]
It’s easy to sing
When there’s nothing to bring me down
But what will I say
When I’m held to the flame
Like I am right now
These are rhetorical questions that MercyMe answers later in the song.
[Chorus 1]
I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
Loose reference to Daniel 3 (particularly Daniel 3:18). Contextually, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego would not bow to the golden statue of king Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian king who conquered and captured the Israelite people. They recognized that God is still God, even if they are not rescued and thrown into the fiery furnace. MercyMe has the same attitude, that they will trust God through the process.
[Verse 2]
They say it only takes a little faith
To move a mountain
See Matthew 17:20.
Well, good thing
A little faith is all I have right now
But God, when You choose
To leave mountains unmovable
Give me the strength to be able to sing
It is well with my soul
A prayer to God not unlike those recorded in Psalms and Lamentations.
[Chorus 2]
I know You’re able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
Repeat from Chorus 1, lines 1-4.
I know the sorrow, and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You’d just say the word
Revelation 21:1-4 tells us that the pain will go away in the new heaven and earth. Hebrews 12:4-11 says that God uses discipline to yield the “peaceful fruit of righteousness” in His adopted children. This would presumably include pain and suffering (at least, that has been my experience.)
But even if You don’t
My hope is You alone
Repeat from Chorus 1, lines 3 and 4.
[Bridge]
You’ve been faithful, You’ve been good
All of my days
God has been faithful and good with Israel and with Christ followers. He will be faithful and good with us too (Exodus 34:6, Deuteronomy 7:9, Lamentations 3:22-23, 1 Corinthians 10:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:24, 2 Timothy 2:13, Hebrews 10:23, 2 Peter 3:9, and 1 John 1:9). However, that does not mean that we should expect nothing bad to happen to us.
Jesus, I will cling to You
A declarative that MercyMe will hold onto Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
Come what may
‘Cause I know You’re able
I know You can
It is impossible for man to save themselves, yet, this is possible with God (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, and Luke 18:27). That is the context of these three passages.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
God can help us through our struggles if we put our hope in God.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
Hope in God.
Score: 10/10
Final Comments
MercyMe’s Even If is loaded with Scripture and brings hope to those who struggle. It is easy for unbelievers to comprehend and, unlike other songs that speak about struggle, does not bring false hope. It recognizes that sometimes, God doesn’t rescue us from our present situation. At least, not while we have breath. In those moments, will we still trust in God? MercyMe does.
Final score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: Even If (listen to the song)
Artist: MercyMe
Album: Lifer
Genre: Alternative Rock, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)
Release Year: 2017
Duration: 4:15
Agree? Disagree? Don’t be shy or have a cow! Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.
*Copyright © 2017 9t One Songs (ASCAP) Ariose Music (ASCAP) Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publ. (ASCAP) D Soul Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com) / Crystallized Music Publishing (ASCAP) / Tunes of MercyMe (SESAC) All Essential Music (ASCAP) Letsbebeautiful (ASCAP) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Updates:
08/09/2020 – After prayerfully reading Ryan’s comment, I changed my mind and removed my earlier criticism about MercyMe’s vagueness. It does not bear merit given the rest of the song. This changed its score from 8/10 to 10/10.
03/05/2020 – Clarified on my criticism of Verse 1.
04/16/2019 – Changed commentary in Chorus 1 of section 2 based on Jenny’s comments (below), slightly altering its score.
Comments
David Rose
You might want to revisit this review after watching this 10 minutes video
EDIT: Link removed by Vince Wright due to its unavailability and possible Google Adsense violation.
tastywallet
I’m lost as to why I must reconsider my review after viewing this video. Can you please explain?
David Rose
The reason I suggested that you reconsider the review is that you brought up some questions that you didn’t have answers to. This video answers them, providing clarity into what what was going on in Bart Millard’s heart when he wrote this.
tastywallet
Ah yes, thanks! While a clarification helps me personally understand where he is coming from, that does not take away from the clarity issue. I could write a song based upon the death of my son; However, if I do not clearly communicate that, the message becomes garbled and generic. That is the heart of my criticism.
Jenny
https://www.newreleasetoday.com/article.php?article_id=2090
I found this article interesting. It seems that chorus 1 (save through the fire…) isn’t an out of context quote from 1 Corinthians. It is a reference to the story in Daniel 3.
tastywallet
Jenny,
Thank you for your feedback! I updated my review to include this updated information.
-TastyWallet
Ruth
Well if you write a song about your son’s death, people who have not lost a child or maybe has lost no one does not relate. With it being vague anyone listening can insert their own trials.
stanlebron
As a songwriter. The song must be personal but also must be not so personal that the message reaches the people who are listening. When It seems he is vague on issues, he is not trying to bring his on personal pain in but give us the hope that what ever we are going through that we can still have hope. So many people pray in faith but they pray amiss. They pray for their desires and not God’s this is where many have fallen away because of the false teachings of Super faith which allows you to get anything you want from God as long as you have the faith to believe but every thing must be according to His will. So many misinterpret the scripture in Psalms where it says that He will give the righteous man the desires of his heart. When the understanding is that the righteous man will desire what God desires and not his own. Paul said it well. We are bought with a price and we are not our on. He was not saying that we are slaves but that we are bond servents who desire to do the will of the one who purchased us and that is God or Jesus Christ. So this song leaves it up to the person hearing to interpret what theyh are struggling with and what may happen or not but that God is still faithful. I love the fact that Paul made a bold statement in Timothy. He said God is faithful because if not He would deny Himself. Part of who God is is Faithfulness. He is faithful to us even when we are not faithful to him. That is what Grace is all about.
Bonnie S Bertoldie
I love this song. My husband was dying of cancer in 2017. We both found it very meaningful and uplifting. I had it at his funeral.
A. L. Norris
“Even If” is the one MercyMe song that touches me most, as it was released during a particularly dark season of my life, and marriage. “God when you choose to leave mountains unmovable, give me the strength to be able to sing: It is well with my soul!” I attended a MercyMe and Crowder concert earlier this year, and Bart prefaced the live performance of “Even If” with a little backstory. He said that he wrote the song for his son, Sam, who has struggled all throughout his life with diabetes, and all that the condition entails. I think that a part of the reason that he chose to leave the “losing bad,” part of the song, the storm, if you will, is in order to ensure it’s relativity and relatability, to the listener.
tastywallet
A. L. Norris,
Thanks for your commentary! It is helpful to understand the backstory, but my comments are directed towards the lyrics as they are written.
-TastyWallet
C.S. Nixon
The operative words in the verse are, “they say” he did not say, ” he said” he is simply quoting an old-adage. I have heard that old saying for many years, that does not mean I believe it. Maybe he was using it to state, inspite of the situation, he believes God can, but even if He does not, he will still trust In the Lord. I’ve been their and done that.
tastywallet
C.S. Nixon,
Thanks for taking the time to read my review and comment! Yes, I understand the colloquial usage of “they say”; However, my criticism is on the lack of clarity, not the usage of such a phrase.
-TastyWallet
Steve Barhydt
What you call vague I call open-ended.
The first time I heard this song was just after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. I was “losing bad.”
Had this song been more specific in the struggle that the song writer was facing it could have easily gone unnoticed by me.
However this song became almost a daily prayer for me as I went through both surgery and radiation.
A 30% reduction in the “Scriptural” category is unwarranted.
tastywallet
Steve,
Thank you for your thoughts! I am sorry that you had to endure prostate cancer and am happy that you found comfort in these lyrics. The 30% reduction was not solely based on the first verse; However, I understand your viewpoint and will consider it for future reviews.
-TastyWallet
Cathy Waggoner
I agree with you 100% Steve! I too inserted my problems into this song and it has helped with my struggles. I prayer for God’s healing of your cancer. In Jesus Name Amen!
JuDee McDonald
I had the same thoughts going through some very tough and difficult struggles. In relating to the words of the song, …’right now I’m loosing bad’, it meant to me, not a matter of living in sin but, I felt that no matter what I did in trying, nothing was helping &, at times hope seemed dismal. I knew that no matter what, God cared about both my situation and I knew that God was my only hope, He would never loose sight of me nor, stop loving me, no matter what trial I faced. I rememberat the time &, still do find comfort in the words of this song. Like you, the lyrics containing truths from God’s Word helped me greatly keeping perspective. For me, many of the MercyMe songs are a blessing to me and touch my heart.
Jimmy
“I know the sorrow, I know the hurt, would all go away if you’d just say the word” is an acknowledgement of the power of God to remove any obstacle we may face, though sometimes He chooses to leave the “mountains” to teach us to trust Him more, and to prove His grace is sufficient. We see this in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 as Paul pleaded to have his “thorn in the flesh” removed.
BenK
In trying to understand your comment about V1 and how it interacts with the CH – “Much of it is Scriptural; however, there is a concern about the source of struggle in verse 1 and subsequent reference in Chorus 2.” – I’m drawn to many of the Psalms (Psalm 6,25,42 to name a few) that involve crying out to God in the midst of trouble, hardship or fear and not all of them resolve. They’re also not always specific and sometimes vague. The Psalmists choose to cry out to God and trust in Him whether or not He delivers them or brings them out of their bad place or when they’re “losing bad.” I see the interactions between V1 and CH2 in light of those hard places where there are no easy answers. Can God end our suffering? Yes. Does He always choose to do it when we want Him to? No. But we trust in Him regardless.
Vince Wright
BenK,
Thank you for your comment! I could have been clearer. Allow me to elaborate.
The Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 7:5-10 (particularly Verse 10) explains to his audience the difference between worldly sorrow and sorrow that leads to repentance. Which sorrow does MercyMe communicate? It’s not clear to me.
I get that the Psalmists cry out to God; However, in the cases you brought up, there is clarity. Psalm 6 is about the adversaries of David (Psalm 6:7). So is PSalm 25 (Psalm 25:2). Psalm 42 is from Korah and also has an enemy, namely, those who say “where is your God?” (Psalm 42:3). We have clarity. These are not due to sin. What about MercyMe? Why are they sorrowful? This is unclear.
I updated this review to reflect this elaboration. I hope my response helps clarify my position.
-Vince Wright
Ryan
I’d like to make a suggestion regarding “they say” and the implication this is mere colloquial vagueness as opposed to rooted in scripture. While modern day “they say” -ers certainly opine often, do did the “theys” of scripture.
Psalm 94:7 (NIV)
“They say, ‘The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.’”
Further, consider the linkage to this concept and the songs later allusion to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and it’s lyrics “save through the fire with your mighty hand.”
They say you win some you lose some — i.e. c’est la vie — ‘The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.’
Vince Wright
Ryan,
Thank you for your suggestion!
I’m not sure how relevant Psalm 94:7 is to your point, but after reading the lyrics a second time, I do see the linkage you mentioned, that no matter what MercyMe goes through (whether it was regret, remorse, or otherwise in Verse 1), their trust and hope is in God. In other words, so long as they put their trust in God, they can get through their current scenario, even if God doesn’t rescue.
My criticism does not bear merit. I updated my review.
-Vince Wright