Understand
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I met Jesus when I was young,
But I had a lot of living left to do,
I knew enough to call Him Savior,
Still I wandered like I never knew.
Oh, I learned to look the part on Sunday,
While Monday found me walking on my own,
But every road I took away from Jesus
Had a Shepherd waiting to lead me home.
[Verse 2]
There were times I should’ve heard Him,
There were times I know He spared my life,
There were warnings I called coincidence,
And mercy I was too blind to recognize.
Till the things I thought had made me somebody
Started falling one by one away—
And down there at the bottom of my barrel,
I found grace had followed me all the way.
[Chorus]
So when you tell my story,
Don’t tell them what I’ve done—
Tell them how a wandering child
Was never once forgotten by the Son.
Don’t carve my name too deeply,
Don’t leave them praising me—
Just tell them Jesus never let me go
When I kept trying to break free.
And if there’s one thing worth remembering
When my last day comes and goes—
To God alone be all the glory—
Jesus never let me go.
[Verse 3]
Then one day while somebody was praying,
God broke through this stubborn heart of mine,
I couldn’t sing another word about Him
And keep pretending I was doing fine.
So I laid my pride there on the altar,
With nothing left to offer but my tears,
And the Savior I’d been running from
Had been running after me for years.
[Chorus]
So when you tell my story,
Don’t tell them what I’ve done—
Tell them how a wandering child
Was never once forgotten by the Son.
Don’t carve my name too deeply,
Don’t leave them praising me—
Just tell them Jesus never let me go
When I kept trying to break free.
And if there’s one thing worth remembering
When my last day comes and goes—
To God alone be all the glory—
Jesus never let me go.
[Bridge]
Now these hands are getting older,
And this body bears the miles,
But grace looks sweeter from this side of life
Than it did when I was a child.
And I still don’t understand it—
Why Calvary would bear my name,
Why nails meant for a sinner
Held the One who took my shame.
Oh, I can’t repay that mercy,
And He never asked me to—
So I’ll be the rock that cries out
Till my crying days are through.
[Breakdown]
I needed Him then.
I need Him now.
Every hour, every breath—
Somehow…
When I wouldn’t listen,
He called my name.
When I wouldn’t follow,
He stayed the same.
When I finally broke,
His arms were open—
And all that’s left for me to say…
[Final Chorus]
When you tell my story,
Tell them what Jesus did—
Tell them grace kept reaching for me
Through every foolish mile I lived.
Don’t say that I was worthy—
Lord knows that isn’t so—
Say the blood of Jesus covered me,
And mercy brought me home.
And someday when I see the Savior
I’ve spent these years longing to know,
I’ll fall before Him with the same old tears
And thank Him—
For never letting go.
[Tag]
So while there’s breath still in me,
I won’t let these old rocks cry alone—
Jesus saved me.
Jesus changed me.
Jesus brought this wanderer home.
And when my voice is finally silent,
There’s just one thing they need to know:
To God be all the glory—
He never let me go.