Discovered by, among others, contemporary Christian music legend Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns got a recording contract and vaulted to popularity in 2003 with songs such as If We Are the Body and Who Am I. The Until The Whole World Hears Songfacts reports that Casting Crown's 2009 Until The Whole World Hears album recorded 167,000 sales in its first week, the largest selling debut week sales figures by a Christian artist in Nielsen Soundscan history.
Over the past eight years, Atlanta based Casting Crowns has consistently delivered music that points believers back to what truly matters.
Since its launch in 2003 the band has garnered 14 GMA Dove Awards, three GRAMMY Awards and an American Music Award. In addition, the band has seen three RIAA Platinum Albums (Casting Crowns, Lifesong, Altar and The Door), two RIAA Platinum DVDs (Live From Atlanta and Lifesong Live), two RIAA Gold Albums (Until the Whole World Hears, Peace on Earth) and two Gold DVDs (Altar and The Door Live and Until The Whole World Hears Live). Casting Crowns has sold more than 8.2 million albums to date (according to Nielsen SoundScan) and has been named Billboard magazine’s top-selling Christian act for the past four years.
The band recently celebrated its first RIAA certified Gold single, “Who Am I,” from its 2003 self-titled debut. The song, selling more than 500,000 copies, is one of only 12 Christian tracks ever to secure Gold status.
Casting Crowns has always worked its tour schedule around church responsibilities and has still managed to touch audiences around the world with its live performances. It’s 2009-2011 “Until The Whole World Hears” world tour placed the band in front nearly 1 million fans in more than 175 cities around the world including performances for U. S. troops in Kuwait and Qatar. The band also performed twice in North Korea in partnership with Global Resource Services.
Alongside the 2011 feature film, Courageous, Casting Crowns wrote a song by the same name which was also featured on their album Come to the Well released the same year. The album's second single,
"Jesus, Friend of Sinners" was not released until February of 2012. In September 2013, the band released "All You've Ever Wanted", the first single from Thrive which was released on January 28, 2014 and charted No. 6 in Billboard 's Top 200 in its first week. An accompanying book, written by Mark Hall, was released and explains the walk of a child of God and how we should "dig deep and reach out".
In early 2015 Casting Crowns released the hymn-album Glorious Day - Hymns of Faith, including Casting Crowns' Until the Whole World Hears singles "Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me)" and "Blessed Redeemer", an acoustic versions of "If We Are the Body" and "Praise You In This Storm" as well as eight hymns.
In addition to a busy touring, recording and writing life, four of the members of Casting Crowns serve as ministers to their home church, Eagle's Landing First Baptist Church in McDonough, Georgia.
My Own Worst Enemy
Casting Crowns Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Break the chains and set me free
From the other side of me
I am my own worst enemy
I caught a glimpse in my rearview mirror
Of an old familiar face
Blurry image coming in clearer
I could've sworn I put him in the ground
But looks like he's found his way out
God, help me get away
Break the chains and set me free
From the other side of me
I can't fight this fight alone
I'll never make it on my own
Lord Jesus, rescue me
From my own worst enemy
I'll take a step and it's right behind me
Always fighting for control
There's a war that's raging inside me
I feel the battle for my soul
It's like my shadow is dragging me around
And You are my only way out
God, help me get away
Break the chains and set me free
From the other side of me
I can't fight this fight alone
I'll never make it on my own
Lord Jesus, rescue me
From my own worst enemy
Lord, help me feed the life I'm trying to live
And starve the life I'm trying to leave
Help me believe the old is dead and gone
And I am a new creation
God, help me get away
Break the chains and set me free
From the other side of me
I can't fight this fight alone
I'll never make it on my own
Lord Jesus, rescue me
From my own worst enemy
From my own worst enemy
The lyrics of "My Own Worst Enemy" by Casting Crowns convey a message of struggle with one's past, present, and inner demons. The imagery of looking into a rearview mirror and seeing a past self that has not yet been overcome highlights the difficulty of overcoming one's own negative tendencies and habits. The chorus is a plea for God's intervention and assistance in breaking the chains that bind the singer to their own self-destructive ways.
The metaphor of a war raging inside the singer amplifies the internal conflict that is being expressed. The line "It's like my shadow is dragging me around" conveys a sense of helplessness and futility, as if the singer is powerless to resist their own tendencies towards self-sabotage. The ultimate message of the song is one of hope, that even though we may be our own worst enemies, we can call on a higher power to help us overcome our struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
God, help me get away
I am pleading with God to help me escape from my own self-destructive behavior
Break the chains and set me free
I need to break free from the negative patterns in my life that are holding me back
From the other side of me
I am struggling with the darker side of myself which is pulling me towards harmful actions and behaviors
I am my own worst enemy
I am the source of my own problems and my own worst enemy, making it difficult to move forward
I caught a glimpse in my rearview mirror
I saw a reflection of my past and how it has affected me in the present
Of an old familiar face
I recognized the face of someone from my past that I thought I had left behind
Blurry image coming in clearer
The image of my past is becoming more vivid as I try to move away from it
Of a past I can't erase
My past mistakes and actions are still affecting me and are difficult to forget
I could've sworn I put him in the ground
I thought I had successfully dealt with this person or problem from my past
But looks like he's found his way out
The person or problem from my past has resurfaced in my life, making it difficult to move forward
I can't fight this fight alone
I need help and support to overcome the challenges I am facing
I'll never make it on my own
I know that I cannot overcome my problems by myself and need assistance
Lord Jesus, rescue me
I am calling out to Jesus to help me and save me from my struggles
I'll take a step and it's right behind me
My past mistakes and problems are always following me, making it hard to move forward
Always fighting for control
There is constantly a battle within me for control over my thoughts and actions
There's a war that's raging inside me
My inner turmoil and struggles are causing an ongoing war within me
I feel the battle for my soul
My struggles and challenges are affecting my spiritual well-being
It's like my shadow is dragging me around
My negative behaviors and past mistakes are haunting me and pulling me down
And You are my only way out
I know that the only way to overcome my struggles is with the help of God
Lord, help me feed the life I'm trying to live
I am asking God to guide me towards living a positive and fulfilling life
And starve the life I'm trying to leave
I am asking God to help me break away from the negative patterns and behaviors in my life
Help me believe the old is dead and gone
I need to let go of my past mistakes and behaviors and believe that I can change for the better
And I am a new creation
I want to embrace a new way of living and become a better version of myself
From my own worst enemy
I want to break free from being my own worst enemy and start living a happy and fulfilling life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP
Written by: JOHN MARK HALL, MATTHEW WEST
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind