I’ve heard about Elijah and Elisha. You can’t be a Christian and not know their names. That would be like an American never knowing the names George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. Or it would be like going through the check-out counter at the grocery store and not knowing the names of Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt (or Bragelina for you uber-trendy folks). Anyway…you catch my drift – though somehow that drift has pulled me in the dangerous riptide of American celebrity).
To say that I knew who Elijah and Elisha were before reading 1 and 2 Kings is to say that I knew their names and maybe caught a rumor or two of some miracles they performed through a sermon here or there or maybe a Sunday School lesson…or in this case, through a song.
This song has been on my iPod for a while, but last week, for the first time, it actually caught my attention in a way that sort of made my mouth drop. I had just wrapped up reading the story of Elijah and the widow’s oil, when this song popped up on my playlist. It was kind of spooky in a cool God sort of way.
Here’s Andrew Peterson giving you some background on the song. (Heads up: He uses the term laborious which only solidifies my previous comments that my words always seem inadequate compared to his or at the very least solidify my need to expand my vocabulary).
All You’ll Ever Need
The blood of Jesus,
it is like the widow’s oil:
it’s enough to pay the price to set you free.
It can fill up every jar
and every heart that ever beat.
When it’s all you have it’s all you’ll ever need.
The blood of Jesus,
it is like the leper’s river
running humble with a power you cannot see.
Seven times go under,
let the water wash you clean.
Only go down to the Jordan and believe.
Only go down in the Jordan and believe.
And I need it,
I need it.
The closer that I grow,
the more I come to know
how much I need it.
The blood of Jesus
it is like Elijah’s fire,
falling on the alter of your faith.
All the wisdom of the world
could never conjure up a spark,
but no power of Hell could ever quench this flame.
No power of Hell could ever touch this flame.
And I need it,
I need it.
The closer that I grow,
the more I come to know
how much I need the blood of Jesus.
The blood of Jesus,
it is like the widow’s oil:
when it’s all you have it’s all you’ll ever need.
It is all you’ll ever need.
© 2008 Jakedog Music (adm. by Centricity Music Publishing) / Junkbox Music / St. Jerome Music / ASCAP/ Composers: Andrew Peterson, Andy Gullahorn, Ben Shive
I have a t-shirt that reads, “Pretty Girls Need Love To.” The t-shirt design came out of a bible study we were doing on Joseph. One night, we were pondering the seemingly ridiculous question of how beauty can be a burden. Somehow the phrase was uttered and, ironically, an ugly girl laugh followed.
