The Jesus I Know Now

 This song was included on the list of new music in the May Living Word Lutheran Church newsletter... 

Country music is best known for singing songs born from real-life experiences. That’s exactly the case with Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson’s collaboration, “The Jesus I Know Now.” In a recent interview, Lake opened up about the inspiration behind the track, giving fans a glimpse into the story that shaped it. 

Lake said that the inspiration behind the song sparked during a conversation with Wilson during a writer’s retreat. “The Lord's just been opening up crazy doors, just to collaborate with a lot of country artists,” the 35-year-old singer-songwriter recalled. “I sat down one day with one of my new, really great friends, now - I'm proud to say that...She is the realest deal. She was telling me her story, and she mentioned something, she goes, ‘You know, the Jesus I know now isn't really like the Jesus I grew up being taught about’”.  

The single had Lake and Wilson singing about how they changed their perception of Jesus when they got to know Him better, compared to what they were taught about Him.   

The track finds Lake and Wilson trading verses as they reflect on how their understanding of God and Jesus has changed dramatically from how they saw faith as children. They touch on how often, when learning about the Bible in Church, it can seem as though it's all “fire and brimstone”, with God judging us for the slightest misstep.

But as they sing across the soul-stirring, piano-driven instrumental, they've grown to see Jesus more as a friend who encourages and listens to them, and forgives them for their mistakes. They stress that it is a personal, comforting relationship built on love and understanding, rather than one with fear and anxiety at its core.

Towards the end of ‘The Jesus I Know Now’, Wilson gets candid about the struggles she has experienced in tandem with her stratospheric rise to fame over the past few years.

Wilson recalls how, despite receiving all the blessings she could wish for, she still felt she was missing something, “Yeah, I got what I wanted / Heard my song on the radio / Left me longing to know You / Top of the world with an empty heart / And nowhere left to go / But back into the arms / of the Jesus I know now”.

The image of being “Top of the world with an empty heart” is incredibly powerful, highlighting the juxtaposition between appearing as though everything is going her way, winning countless awards, scoring No. 1 singles and taking her songs across the globe, but in reality, wishing for a stronger connection with her faith.

It's a beautifully evocative and thought-provoking song, one that follows a string of country-leaning offerings from Lake, such as ‘Just Believe’ with Bailey Zimmerman and ‘When a Cowboy Prays’ with Cody Johnson. And don't forget his Grammy winning collaboration with country superstar, Jelly Roll, 'Hard Fought Hallelujah'. After ‘The Jesus I Know Now’, we're hoping Lake has a full-blown country-crossover project up his sleeve for 2026.   

If you want to hear more about Brandon Lake bringing his faith to country music, watch this interview...