Driving Nails

I believe this song is dealing with the subject of willfully leaving God, "backsliding," and falling into sin, as well as the struggle with being imperfect beings. Now, what I mean by this I will explain through the lyrics.

Firstly, I'm certain that in this song there is a dialogue between two people: God and man [us]. The first part is God speaking:

"I was the light I was the quiet heart I was the place we used to dwell And when the cold would tear your life apart, I was the warmth that you had felt"

God was all of these things, the light, the comfort, the warmth, our solace. But then [we] drift from Him, lose hope in Him, lose our faith, and in the end we are filled with regret for the things we have done. The second stanza is now of [us] regretting leaving Him:

"What have I become? Thoughts like shadows swelling through my mind What have I become? Something else inside"

What have I become? This statement echoes with the sound of regret at leaving God. But what have we become? We've become "Something else inside," meaning we have become more sinful, less like what God wants for us, living in our own way, and ignoring Him.

"It's driving nails into my soul Angels from my door Driving nails into my soul Something inside..."

What is "It?" Well, "It" is sin. Sin causes guilt and pain and is akin to nails being driven into the soul.

"I was the blood inside your broken heart I was the stone that you had held"

This is God talking again. And as everyone knows, this world is a brutal place. People can be cold and heartless and hurtful. A consequence of living is that we will get hurt. Someone will hurt us, willfully or not. It's a fact, and many a time, our hearts will be broken. But instead of letting continue to suffer, God is the blood in our hearts that keeps us going, keeps us alive despite the tragedies surrounding us.

Now, the part about the stone, I'm a bit unsure of. But God could be the stone--a precious stone--that we held on to before falling away.

"I close my eyes Search for you Retracing every step"

Now this part is [us] speaking. Despite falling away, God's arms are always wide open, waiting for us to return to him. This is reminiscent of the Prodigal Son, who left his father, but ended up returning to his father. And the father welcomed him back (Luke 15:11-32). But before he returned, the son had to realize his mistake (leaving his father). He had to humble himself.

In the case of the song: "I close my eyes... Search for you." If someone leaves the faith, they can always return to God by humbling themselves and searching for Him. "Retracing every step." This means going back, reversing the initial steps taken away from God. One can always retrace their steps and return to God, no matter what they've done. And just like the Prodigal Son, God always welcomes us back.