Without Running Away

JG sent me his new album a couple of days ago and it was truly a gift from God.  All of Jason's albums have a theme, and while it wasn't his intention, his newest has the theme of brokenness.  Needless to say it has spoken to me and his ministered to me like few other albums have.  I am thankful for it and I am thankful that I can call such an amazingly talented man of God a friend.
My favorite song is called Without Running Away.  The instrumentation is stunning but so are the words. In the liner notes (ALWAYS read Jason's liner notes!) he writes about this song:

Perhaps it’s too obvious that it was written during a dark season in my life. I’ve worried about whether or not it was appropriate to even include it on the record. But for those who might need a song like this, I hope it helps in some way to lighten the load. I risk including it here in hopes to encourage those in their own dark season to not give up. In the shadows you will find a hand you can trust - the hand of the high priest who understands you, a man of sorrows himself, well acquainted with grief, one who will not break a bruised reed.

So, please enjoy this feast for your eyes.

Without Running Away
by Jason Gray

I’ve spent some days looking

For a length of rope

And a place to hang it

From the end of my hope

But where I thought hope had ended

I always find a little bit more

It’s not like I’m trying

To be optimistic

If the truth be told

I’d rather dismiss it

And be free of the burden

Of the living that hoping requires

To bring my heart

To every day

And to run the risk of fearlessly loving

Without running away

Jesus is speaking

But it’s so hard to hear

When disciples with swords

Are cutting off ears

Broken and bleeding

I’m waiting for healing to come

But wounded is a part

I’ve learned to play well

Though the wound may run deeper

Than I know how to tell

Where pain’s an addiction

That keeps me buried alive

But when it’s all that I know

I’m afraid to leave it behind

My heart is not lifted up

My eyes are not lifted up

But calm and quiet is my soul

Like a babe with its mother is my soul

After awhile in the dark

Your eyes will adjust

In the shadows you’ll find

The hand you can trust

And the still small voice

That calls like the rising sun

"Come!"