I said you gotta leave, you gotta promise me
It’s the beginning of my end, you gotta promise me
How can a holy God renew a wicked Pharisee
I’m saying I’m like Peter in the boat, so just depart from me
It seems I’m destined for doom like ancient prophesy
And in the dark I’m consumed, it’s just too much for me
With sin in full bloom, my gloom booms by the full moon
And I’m thinking to myself, ‘how can You rescue me?’

CHORUS
My before and after
I can’t but sing
My before and after
I’ll sing praises to my King
My before and after
Here’s the anthem, let it ring
One love, two arms, three scars
Draw us to where You are
No one is too far for You to save a heart

Then in the darkness of this room, You snuck up next to me
You put your hand upon my wound and whispered ‘rest in me’
And there I stepped out of the tomb and into destiny
The rest they say is history
Your grace is such a mystery

(Chorus)

I got a name change
And that’s the strange thing
‘Cause I was once stained
But now I’m called saint

(Chorus)


Written by Jimmy Needham and Jason Ingram / 2 Corinthians 5:17 / Produced and engineered by Will Hunt. Vocals by Jimmy Needham. Acoustic guitar by Jimmy Needham. Piano, Rhodes, B3, synth by Josh Moore. Percussion by Will Hunt. Drums by Jacob Schrodt. Electric guitars by Taylor Johnson. Bass by Todd Cromwell. Recorded at Spaceway Studios. Mixed by Shane Wilson. Mastered by Bob Boyd at Ambient Digital. © 2008 Needhim Music / First Company Publishing / ASCAP / Admin. by First Company Publishing / Peertunes Ltd. / GrangeHill Music / Windsor Way Music / SESAC / Admin. by Peer Music.

Behind the Song:
”The big, dark secret of my past was my addiction to pornography. Since the age of nine, I had been an addict. I didn’t become a Christian until my sophomore year of high school, but the battle with porn didn’t conclude there. In fact, that is where it started. I hated it, yet I kept returning to it. It was such a time of frustration, shame and disappointment in myself. One night after stumbling yet again, I fell to my knees calling out to God, trying to tell Him how sorry I was that I had let Him down. In that moment I had a vision. I saw the LORD kneeling beside me. Slowly He slipped His hand onto my back. He didn’t say a word, but He was there, and I knew that He was loving me through my struggle. That moment gave me a new sense of hope and eventually led me to be completely free from pornography later in college.” – Jimmy Needham