This Is Me

Lyrics

"The story of Jonah is a lesson from my heart" Began the gray-haired preacher This tattered leather-bound book of forgiveness Lay opened in the pulpit The small whitewashed church was hot that night It seemed Texas was always hot Always hot in August A few in the congregation slowly fanned Their red and sweaty faces On the second row a little to the left A young mother sat with her daughter The mother hoped that her daughter Would listen to what the preacher would say To the right about six rows back sat a man and wife For three years she had worn his ring and his wrath The bruises have all been disappeared But the few would never go away On the back pew, the 17-year-old fidgeted As he daydreamed out the darkened window About how his future would be like And in the distance, the preacher and Jonah "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city and cry against it For their wickedness has come up before Me But Jonah rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord!" The seatbelt sign flashed on And the wear traveler peered out the window At the rapidly approaching ground His thoughts were on that night Funny how insecurity robs both today and tomorrow Of what God meant them to be You know, in one way, every concert I give is the same Every time I walk on stage, I know that God is watching The houselights dim, the crowd applauds My band begins to play, I look around and find out And close my eyes and pray, "Jesus, forgive me Use me, help me to touch someone's life, tonight" I can hardly speak My lungs won't move the air The words get stuck in my throat When I lay my soul bare In this daily life I live I've fallen like a fool I've broken God's trust That's when I fall on my knees And I pray Jesus, forgive This is me, this is me Yeah, the part of me I'm so afraid, I'm so afraid For you to know, for you to know This is me, this is me And there's some things We both have gone through See, I'm not so different from you "From inside the fish" Worried Benny wasn't sure but he was here now "Jonah prayed, 'in my distress I call to the Lord And He answered me" The fidget was gone, the boy listened on To the gray-haired preacher Strange how it seems life plays out Before the script was even written The traveler closed his eyes as the plane touched down And he wondered, "How could God use a man If he turned his back on God so many times and ran Again and again?" The preacher wiped his sweaty face and read "Those who cling to worthless idols Forfeit the grace that could be theirs Salvation comes through the Lord Oh, Lord, I know it does, I know it does The young couple got up and left in a fight The little girl's mind never left Sesame Street The prayers, the hymns, the sermon All have been for the back pew that night Through the words of the traveler preacher The boy heard the call of God "Take me, move me, shape me Oh, Lord, please, help me be the person You want me to be" The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time "Go to the great city of Nineveh And proclaim to it the message I give you" This time, Jonah obeyed the Lord As the plane slowly began to empty The weary passenger sat still, eyes shut tight For years and years, this prayer had been the same "Jesus, forgive me, use me Help me to take someone's life tonight" Adjusting his spectacles and his sight The traveler took one final look at his tattered Bible And the text for his sermon that tonight The old testament story of Jonah This is me, this is me Yeah, the part of me I'm so afraid, I'm so afraid For you to know, for you to know This is me, this is me And there's some things We both have gone through See, I'm not much different from you I can only tell you how I feel What's on my mind To me what is real I can only tell you That I've had some times That I felt out of touch With the mind of God But the Lord has brought me through I know I'm not so different from you This is me, this is me Yeah, it's really me This is me, this is me, ooh, yeah