Lyrics
When the words of his father still echoed inside
And the weight of his weakness grew hard to deny
A young man went walking where the tall timber stood
To hunt in the silence deep into the woods
The mountains stood watch and the daylight grew thin
But louder than nature were the questions within
For the things he had heard when a boy at his side
Had settled like seeds that were waiting for life
And the wrestle rolled on through the dark of the pines
Through the long lonely hours and the passing of time
For a soul burdened down can travel far from home
While kneeling beneath the pines all alone
The daylight gave way to the chill of the night
Yet still he kept pleading for mercy and light
No crowd gathered near and no witness was there
Just the wind in the branches and one earnest prayer
For he knew of the Savior his father proclaimed
But knowing a story and trusting aren’t the same
So he poured out his soul till his strength nearly failed
And he clung to his faith when the answers seemed veiled
And the wrestle rolled on through the dark of the pines
Through the long lonely hours and the passing of time
For a soul burdened down can travel far from home
While kneeling beneath the pines all alone
Then sometime near dawn when the night had grown old
A voice broke the silence more precious than gold
And the Lord spoke the words he had longed for to hear
The words that could banish a lifetime of fear
“Thy sins are forgiven.”
The burden was gone
Like mist in the sunlight or frost at the dawn
And peace filled the forest from earth up above
As heaven answered faith with mercy and love
And the wrestle rolled on no more through the pines
For the answer had come in the fullness of time
And the Lord of the lost had remembered His own
In a forest of pines where he knelt all alone
Then his thoughts turned away from his own troubled heart
To the people he’d loved from the very start
He prayed for his brethren and all they might be
Then pleaded for strangers across the great sea
The Lord made a promise concerning a record
Whose message would stand though the ages moved forward
That generations unborn would someday come to know
Of the Savior whose mercy had softened his soul
And the wrestle lives on in the hearts of us all
When we’re burdened by weakness and fear we may fall
For the Lord who forgave in that forest long gone
Still hears every soul who will call upon Him
And he’ll see His face with pleasure
And he’ll hear His welcome home
And he’ll see His face with pleasure
And he’ll hear His welcome home