Скачать или смотреть No Weapon Formed Against You Shall Prosper - An Essay on Track 5

An essay on “No Weapon,” Track 5 from my upcoming album You’re Not a Ghost Anymore.
“No weapon formed against you will prosper.” — Isaiah 54:17
Full essay below.

No Weapon

In the battle you never could conquercomes a rage
builds inside you, a monster.But if you forgive who led you to the slaughter,no weapon they’ve formed against you will matter.

No weapon formed against you will conquer.

I love the pragmatism in biblical teaching.
I come to faith as an outsider.I wasn’t raised in the churchor within any real organized belief system.
My folks just weren’t very religious.
My mom, coming from West Virginia, from a humble beginning in the hills of Anmore, always said church was part of her early life.But my dad was a self-professed heathen.
In the 80s, they did what suburban lower-middle-class people did in Akron, Ohio.They partied their asses off.And who could really blame them?
They worked hard too.They kept their family and marriage together.And by today’s standards, they seem heroic for it.
But church never factored in.

I actually pressed the issue when I was a kid, and my grandma, who lived down the street, ended up taking me one Sunday.
Bloody Jesus on the cross.The first long-haired rock star, I guess.
What was all this madness?And how could he say, “No weapon formed against you will prosper?”
Funny enough, my dad just texted me this at 4:16 a.m.:

“Joe, I am impressed. Your song is great, even for a non-believer, along with the video. I wondered too until I read your explanation. Your mother is reading your release as I am typing. Stay safe, we you.”

I think he missed the word love.But not the love.
The love is there.
And it’s an example of no weapon prospering.

Me and my dad, like many sons and fathers, had a complicated relationship for many years.But there’s nothing complicated about it anymore.

From my side, it’s respectful and loving.It’s built on forgiveness.Judgment has no air to breathe in its atmosphere.

That came, for me, from the pragmatism of biblical teaching.
Even born heathens can overcome and prosper in the light.

And what is the light?

I had to look up the verse.I don’t know the Bible all that well.

“But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken.”Isaiah 54:17

Before this, he (GOD) talks about turning his back on you for a while, but never again.
I take it to mean this.And again, I’m not an expert.

When I surrender to God as my foundation,when I seek Him,when my identity is housed in presenceand my ego is no more than a vehicle I travel in,

no weapon formed against me will prosper.
When I walk in peaceand question every judgmental thought,or see thoughts of that nature as the enemy whispering,
strained relationships begin to flourishand blessings make their way home.

The pragmatism is this:

Tough times are no bad thingfor someone whose foundation is in the Lord.
Hardship takes us home.
It keeps our focus on grace and mercy.It burns off whatever has been added by fear and deception.
The song goes:

“Trying to make your way back to the lightWhere your dreams are still running, they’re freeAsking the Lord to help make it alrightAnd to be who He wants you to be
He wants you to beSo free.”

And freedom is the ultimate value.

Peace.A foundation where you can be a conduit for grace and mercy.
A reflection of the light.

Many are called.Few are chosen.
Because making it through the obstacle course of earthwithout succumbing to its temptationsand the places where we are broken
requires total surrender.
Surrender not as weakness,but as strength.
Strength that’s not your own.At least not at first.

When Christ is your foundation,His strength becomes your strength.His grace becomes your grace.

Sitting in the pew with my grandma,looking up at Christ,bloody and beaten on the cross behind the preacher,
I kept staring.
It was terrifying.

Who knew this is what victory looks like.
Overcoming the world.Moving beyond it.Shining a light for those still down in it.
Singing in your heart.