This Is Me

"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