A beautiful song about faith and divine forgiveness for this Good Friday.
Today, Christian singer Brandon Lake and country star Lainey Wilson teamed for a duet called “The Jesus I Know Now,” which was written by Lake and Wilson along with Emily Weisband (co-writer of Daniel Bradberry’s “Sway” and BTS and Halsey’s “Boy With Luv”) and Luke Laird (co-writer of Eric Church’s “Drink in My Hand,” Jon Pardi’s “Head Over Boots” and Kenny Chesney’s “American Kids”) after a conversation about they’ve encountered false teachings of the Word throughout their lives.
In the first verse, Lake lays out the preconceived notions held by many non-believers, remarking how he was always told that Jesus was an angry figure who would cast out any sinners if they walked off the straight in narrow:
“I was told He was angry
And He hated 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”
The rest of the lyrics find Lake and Wilson singing about a much different view of faith that they had growing up where they had a lot more fear around God and the kind of Father he is, and later in Lainey’s solo verse, she admits that she “got what [she] wanted” hearing her song on the radio, but she was at the “top of the world with an empty heart,” saying she had nowhere to go and felt like she was at rock bottom:
“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”
It’s a very honest admission and maybe confusing to some to think that Lainey was literally at the peak of her career, getting everything she ever wanted in terms of earthly accomplishments and accolades, and really, it made her feel nothing… and she found herself at rock bottom when it looked like, to the rest of the world, she had everything anyone could ever want.
And if Lake’s name sounds familiar to you, it might be because of his hit song “Gratitude,” and he’s done a couple other songs with country artists in “Hard Fought Hallelujah” with Jelly Roll, and more recently, “When A Cowboy Prays” with Cody Johnson.
Christian and country music has always had a ton of crossover, and so it’s not surprising to see him working with so many country artists, and Christian music in general is having a huge moment in the mainstream right now. In May of 2025, there were two Christian songs that made the Hot 100 chart – the first time that’s happened in over a decade. One was Forrest Frank’s viral smash “Your Way’s Better,” and the other was the aforementioned “Hard Fought Hallelujah.”
It’s really cool to see, and I think this song with Lainey is my favorite out of the three Lake has released with other country artists thus far. Of course, the timing of putting it out on Good Friday is perfect, and I think this is one a ton of people will relate to because it’s not only honest, but gives a perspective of Jesus’ true love and forgiveness that I think can often get lost when the topic of religion comes up in the world of mainstream pop culture.
Lainey’s vocals are always great, and I certainly think Lake has another hit on his hands with this one.
Check it out:
