Lyrics Page

Before I Knew Jesus

By Leanna Crawford

1,249 views Jul 17, 2026 updated Verified editorial review

Leanna Crawford's 'Before I Knew Jesus' is a contemporary Christian song about personal transformation through faith. The lyrics contrast a past marked by shame, brokenness, and feeling unloved with a present defined by freedom, hope, and forgiveness found in Jesus. Crawford sings of being changed forever, no longer needing to measure up, and now being known, held, and called God's own. The song emphasizes redemption and the impossibility of returning to life before knowing Christ. It reflects themes of salvation and God's love, with a clear testimony of how Jesus changed everything.

Lyrics Verified by Editorial Team

Before I knew Jesus  

All I knew was all my shame 

Unloved was my life story  

Unworthy was my name  

Had no future  

Just a long and broken past  

But I?m standing here today to say  

Jesus changed all that  

 

Now I know freedom 

Now I know hope  

Now I know love that will never let go  

Forever forgiven  

Forever I?m changed  

And there?s no going back to the day  

 

Before I knew Jesus  

There was no such thing as a bigger plan  

No redemption for my failures 

No such thing as a second chance  

Before I knew Jesus  

The good was never good enough  

But he set me free to see  

That I don?t have to measure up  

 

Now I know freedom 

Now I know hope  

Now I know love that will never let go  

Forever forgiven  

Forever I?m changed  

And there?s no going back to the day 

Before I knew Jesus  

 

And now my Savior  

He knows me  

He knows me  

And now my Savior  

He calls me His own  

And now my Savior  

He holds me  

He holds me  

And in my Savior  

My heart has a home  

 

Before I knew Jesus  

And I look Him in the eye  

I want everyone to see  

He?s the one who changed my life  

 

Now I know freedom 

Now I know hope  

Now I know love that will never let go  

Forever forgiven  

Forever I?m changed  

And there?s no going back to the day 

Before I knew Jesus  

 

And there?s no going back to the day  

Before I knew Jesus  

Cause I know Jesus  


Songwriters: Leanna Crawford, Matthew West, Jeff Pardo 

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