9. "Lonely Nation"

She turns like the ocean
She tells no emotion
She's been gunning down the fight

She's just reminiscing
Blood, sweat, and one thing's missing
She's been breaking up inside, inside

Singing without tongues

Screaming without lungs

I want more than my lonely nation
I want more than my lonely nation
Desperate we are young
Separate we are one
I want more than my desperation
I Want more than my lonely nation

We are the target market
We set the corporate target
We are slaves of what we want
We're just not amused
And we're just used to bad news
We are slaves of what we want

(Chorus)

Lonely, lonely

Don't leave me hollow
I'm tired
Don't leave me hollow
I'm tired of feeling low
Of feeling hollow
I'm tired of feeling low
Of feeling hollow
I'm tired of feeling low
Of feeling hollow
I'm tired of feeling low
Of feeling hollow
Of feeling hollow
Of feeling hollow

Singing without tongues
Screaming without lungs
Want more than my desperation
I want more than my lonely nation
Desperate we are young
Separate we are one
I want more than my lonely nation
I want more than my lonely nation
I want more than my lonely nation
I want more than my lonely nation

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I still remember hearing this song, for the first time, four years ago. Opening to their rock heavy album Nothing is Sound, "Lonely Nation" sends chills of sorrow through your skin. I could sense depression in the lyrics, and I immediately knew that this album was going to be different.

"We are slaves of what we want", I believe this to be true. Cars, dress, politics, school, careers, sex, girls, friends, food...whatever we put above God is idolatry. So where does that leave us? Lonely. What is lonely nation? Where people are fake, broken, enslaved and without purpose.

When someone's at the very lowest of all lows they might think, "I'm tired of feeling low, Of feeling hollow". I love that line Jon Foreman sings over and over again. Feeling hollow, or knowing that somethings missing. Gives us the feeling of no hope.

BUT...the album doesn't stop with just this song, no no, it continues on into "Stars". A song about looking to God when we're at our lowest of all lows. That song will be reviewed later on.

10. "Home"

It's a long way from Miami to LA
It's a longer way from yesterday To where I am today
It's a long way from my thoughts To what I'll say
It's a long, long way from paradise To where I am today

All that's in my head, Is in Your hands

It's a long way from The moon up to the sun
It's a longer road ahead of me
The road that I've begun
Stop to think of all the Time I've lost
Start to think of all the Bridges that I've burned
That must be crossed

Over, over, over Take me over
I've been poison
I've been rain
I've been fooled again
I've seen ashes
Shine like chrome
Someday I'll see home Home, home

I can see the stars From way down here
But I can't fall asleep Behind the wheel
It's a long way from the Shadows in my cave
Up to Your reality to Watch the sunlight taking over

All that's in my head, Is in Your hands
If it's in my head, it's in Your hands

It's in Your hands

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I love this song. It ranks number 10 on my list for a few reasons...great melody, theological significance, and the realness throughout the lyrics. Sure, you can hear this song and quickly forget ever hearing it. However, I've dug a little deeper than the average Joe. That is due to my love for Switchfoot & God. First of all, this song represents sanctification in my eyes, and with good thought.

"according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:" 1 Peter 1:2

Through the Spirit, we are made more like God. Never fully gaining this (until we die), we are continually chiseled until we die. I've seen ashes shine like chrome....beautiful representation of the process we undergo. The old is gone, and the new has come! We should act differently than we did before Christ. People should notice. However, that is not always so. Many times our new lifestyle isn't so new. The old creeps back in, like a dog returning to it's vomit, a pig to the mud. So are you truly changed??? Are you being changed???

"And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians 6:11

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17

The other point to the song, is simply giving all our thoughts to God. There are plenty of times (per day) were my anxious heart drives my mind mad. I literally have to say, "God all that's in my head is in your hands". God is running the show, He's in charge. He knows what's best. How can we attain peace???

"5b The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4: 5b-7

-God supplies us with peace, which surpasses our understanding.
-God changes our ashes into chrome.
-We should be changing daily.

Top 10 Switchfoot Songs

1. The Shadow Proves the Sunshine - Nothing Is Sound

2. Twenty-Four - The Beautiful Letdown

3. Innocence Again - Learning to Breathe

4. Always - Hello Hurricane

5. Stars - Nothing Is Sound

6. On Fire - The Beautiful Letdown

7. Only Hope - New Way To Be Human

8. Learning to Breathe - Learning to Breathe

9. Lonely Nation - Nothing Is Sound

10. Home - The Legend of Chin

Obtaining Happiness

"8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead... 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself."
Philippians 3:8-11 & 20-21

People will never be happy until they reach an answer to the question, why am I not happy? Nothings ever enough, and for that we complain. Surely we deserve more, Surely we deserve more, Surely NOT. So where does true happiness come from, and how can I get some???

True happiness is found in gaining Christ. Our comfort, clothing found on our backs, a flower blossoming, that perfect cup of coffee, the perfect essay response, anything that is good comes from God, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17). We're told in the passage above, in Philippians, to count everything as loss in view of our relationship to Christ, so that we may gain Him. This is basically telling us to draw closer to God, have better fellowship with Jesus. But how can we gain Christ? I believe we must first look at the word gain, and I'm going to argue the word can mean the same as redemption. From the passage above in Philippians, Paul explains what gaining Christ entails...

Gaining Christ is equal to redemption, and for three reasons:

1.) Righteousness through Faith (vs. 9) = Justified
2.) Sharing in His sufferings, become like Him in in His death (vs. 10) = Sanctified
3.) Transformation of our lowly bodies (vrs. 20-21) = Glorification

Therefore, we can assume, everyday we are/should be gaining Christ. Redemption happens everyday, every moment is forgiveness. So we should be gaining Christ everyday. We no that's no so, because that would mean everyone would always be content and completely at peace, i.e. happy. So what's keeping us from always pursuing and gaining Christ? I believe it's due to our total depravity as a human race. That brings me to a couple of key questions...How can one go about gaining Christ? Why is it important?


How can one go about gaining Christ, and why is it important?

Well since gaining Christ can also mean redemption...we gain Christ by living in Him daily. You ask, "How can I gain redemption?" You don't do anything to gain it! You love God, and honor Him with your life, because of the free gift of Christ. Therefore, in order to gain Christ, we love Him. Then we tell others about the love we've received. There isn't a set of ways we can draw closer to Christ (gain Him), we're called to Love God & Love People. It's not something we should have to think about doing, we just do. We do, because He already did. So where does that leave us, "11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2: 11-12). Our good works don't save us, but they should be a result of His good work in us.

This is important because our lives depend, every second, on Christ blood. His redemption gives us life every day. We need to be gaining Christ daily, drawing closer with Him as we grow older.

Practical Ideas:
-Spend time with Him
-Pray
-Preach the good news

KA - seeking Him