Lyrics
Verse 1
A nameless being high upon a throne,
With a kingdom and a crown all his own.
Unmoved by the sorrow that we bear,
That's not the God I know.
Unable to be touched by all the needs,
Of those crying out to him down on their knees.
Not hearing or answering a prayer,
That's not the God I know.
Chorus
The One I know will go, to the darkest place to reach you
No matter how far, He'll come to where you are to meet you.
The One I know will stay when others go away and leave you
If you think that God is far away and cold, that's not the God I know.
Verse 2
Seeing me so lost without a hope,
He left the 99 safe in the fold
To search until He found and brought me home
Yes, that's the God I know.
He left the 99 safe in the fold
To search until He found and brought me home
Yes, that's the God I know.
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"That's Not the God I Know" opens by describing a false picture of God, a distant, nameless ruler unmoved by suffering and unresponsive to prayer, before rejecting that picture outright in each verse's closing line. That repeated refusal sets up the song's central contrast between a cold, remote deity and the God the singer actually describes.
The chorus answers that false picture directly, describing a God willing to go to the darkest place to reach anyone, staying present when others leave, and remaining near rather than far off and unconcerned. The second verse grounds that contrast in a specific parable, recalling a shepherd who left the ninety-nine safe in the fold to search until finding the one who was lost.
Performed in a Southern gospel vocal style, the song functions as a corrective testimony, answering doubt about God's character with a specific, active picture of pursuit and presence. Its structure, moving from a rejected caricature to a personally affirmed truth, centers the song entirely on God's willingness to seek out and stay with those who feel forgotten.
Related Scripture
- Luke 15:4-6 Describes a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that is lost, the parable directly retold in the song's second verse.
- Psalm 34:18 Describes the Lord as near to the brokenhearted, echoed in the song's contrast between a distant God and one who draws close.