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Everything you need to know about this beautifully heartfelt 2026 Country-Christian song from Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson.
- Song The Jesus I Know Now
- Lyrics“I was told He was angry
Didn't like the music up too loud
I was told He would save me
If I showed up to church and I shut my mouth
If I smoked, if I drank, if I cussed
I'd think I was on a long black train to hell... - Artist(s)Brandon Lake, Lainey Wilson, Luke Laird, Emily Weisband
- Released April 3, 2026
- Label Provident Label Group
- Songwriter(s)Bailey Zimmerman, Brandon Lake, Austin Shawn, Josh Phillips
- Producer(s) Austin Shawn
The Background:
One of the songs to emerge from Brandon Lake's country-leaning writers’ retreat in early 2026, featuring Music City heavyweights such as Lainey Wilson, Thomas Rhett, Tyler Hubbard, Dan + Shay, Bailey Zimmerman, HARDY, Russell Dickerson and more.
‘The Jesus I Know Now’, penned by Lake and Wilson alongside premier Nashville songsmiths Luke Laird and Emily Weisband, was inspired by a conversation the two vocalists were having about Wilson's ongoing journey with her faith.
During a live show ahead of the song's release, Lake shared the heartwarming story behind the song, explaining, “The Lord's just been opening up crazy doors, just to collaborate with a lot of country artists...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 ‘Gratitude’ hitmaker then recalled immediately feeling the melody for ‘The Jesus I Know Now’ enter his heart, with Lake and Wilson building out the rest of the song around Wilson's experience growing up in the Church and getting closer to Jesus with time. Aptly, ’The Jesus I Know Now’ arrived on Good Friday 2026.
The Sound:
‘The Jesus I Know Now’ is cut from the same rousing, piano-driven fabric as classic Lake anthems such as ‘Gratitude’, ’As For Me & My Home’ and ‘When a Cowboy Prays’.
Opening with the atmospheric, reverb-laden keys, Lake kicks off the track with his heartfelt, commanding vocals. Wilson enters the fray for the second verse, with the Louisiana native's enchanting, sincere delivery accentuating the soul-stirring ambience.
It's a deeply moving ode to the way in which faith can lead us through our darkest moments, even when it seems to the outside world like we're riding a wave of success.
The Meaning:
‘The Jesus I Know Now’ was inspired by Wilson's reflection on her walk with faith so far, with the ‘Heart Like a Truck’ crooner telling Lake during the writing session, “You know, the Jesus I know now isn't really like the Jesus I grew up being taught about”.
The track is a deeply profound and visceral meditation on how, when we're children and first learning about the Bible, God and Jesus in Church, it can often feel as though we should be scared of the “fire and brimstone” that will befall us if we stray from the straight and narrow, and that judgement awaits us around every corner.
As Lake and Wilson highlight throughout ‘The Jesus I Know Now’, as they've grown up and embraced a more personal relationship with Jesus, they've understood that His teachings are really just about love, compassion and forgiveness, rather than punishment. They sing that Jesus is with us every step of the way, whether we're getting drunk and trying to raise hell at a party or praying in a Church pew.
The core message of ’The Jesus I Know Now’ is that Lake and Wilson have learned to talk to, confide in and lean on Jesus as a good friend, rather than fearing what he might think of us when we're at our lowest and when we're making mistakes. There's a particularly striking moment towards the end of the track, when Wilson sings about how she has been on “top of the world”, winning a multitude of awards and experiencing stratospheric success, but she felt an emptiness that wasn't filled until she worked on her relationship with ‘The Jesus I Know Now’.
For the full lyrics to Brandon Lake and Lainey Wilson's ‘The Jesus I Know Now’, see below:
“I was told He was angry
Didn't like the music up too loud
I was told He would save me
If I showed up to church and I shut my mouth
If I smoked, if I drank, if I cussed
I'd think I was on a long black train to hell
Yeah, I thought I knew Him
'Til I met Him for myself
-
But the Jesus I know now
Ain't shakin' a fist, ain't raisin' a brow
Yeah, the Jesus I know now
Ain't runnin' away from a party crowd
I found a friend who hangs with the misfits
Listens, forgives and forgives again
Can't believe I was missin' out
On the Jesus I know now
-
I'm learning He likes me
Even when I take a truck a little too far
Yeah, I'm learning he loves me
Every hair on my head, every story behind my scars
And He says who I am really ain't what I do
Yeah, this grace takes some gettin’ used to
I'm learning He loves me
Yeah, the boy in a bar and the kid in the pew
-
Yeah, the Jesus I know now
Ain't shakin' a fist, ain't raisin' a brow
Yeah, the Jesus I know now
Ain't runnin' away from a party crowd
I found a friend who hangs with the misfits
Listens, forgives and forgives again
Can't believe I was missin' out
On the Jesus I know now
On the Jesus I know now
The Jesus I know now
-
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
Ain't just a voice up there in the clouds
Yeah, the Jesus I know now
Ain't lookin‘ for trophies to make him proud
I found a friend who hangs with the misfits
Listens, forgives and forgives again
Can't believe I was missin’ out
On the Jesus I know now
On the Jesus I know now
The Jesus I know now”
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