Long before Leanna Crawford stepped onto the Grand Ole Opry stage or watched her breakout hit “Still Waters (Psalm 23)” climb to No. 1 on Christian radio, she privately believed her worth rose and fell with her career.
And when the success she envisioned didn’t come as quickly as she hoped, the award-winning singer-songwriter said she felt as though she had disappointed everyone: her family, her audience and even God.
“I put all my worth in what I do, like all of it in music,” the 31-year-old Stanwood, Washington, native told The Christian Post. “I felt like I’d let everybody down. Felt like I’d let God down, but I was also kind of upset at Him because I was like, ‘Well, what are you doing? I want to be in control.’”
Today, her perspective is one of gratitude. Thank God, Crawford’s sophomore album, arrives on July 24, the same day she makes her Grand Ole Opry debut. The record follows an extraordinary stretch for the Nashville resident, who was named New Artist of the Year at the 2025 GMA Dove Awards and earned K-LOVE Fan Awards’ Breakout Single of the Year for “Still Waters (Psalm 23),” a Gold-certified hit that introduced millions of listeners to her vulnerable songwriting.
But rather than chase the formula that made “Still Waters” a success, Crawford chose a different path. She scrapped her original vision for the album and leaned instead into the music she grew up loving: ’90s country, organic instrumentation and story-driven songwriting, complete with pedal steel guitar and roots-inspired arrangements.
“This album feels like home,” she said. “It just felt so natural. … It wasn’t forced. It was just like, ‘OK, here. This is who I am.’”
Where “Still Waters” chronicled a season of pain as she lived through it, “Thank God” looks back from the other side.
“A lot of those songs were written in the middle of that season,” Crawford said of her first album. “This one is me looking back now and saying, ‘Oh, that’s why I had to go through some of that.’”
The album’s title track reflects a newfound gratitude for unanswered prayers and closed doors, while songs like “Revenge” confront the difficult work of forgiveness. The idea for “Revenge” emerged after a conversation with a friend that exposed lingering bitterness in Crawford’s own heart. In a sense, she said, the song documents her journey of healing.
“Forgiveness is so hard. … I was really bitter for a long time, and angry, and I had to continually give it to God and just pray, ‘God, help me with this,’” she said.
“I realized I kind of still had some things in my own heart that I needed to figure out,” the artist added. “That person doesn’t even know that I’m holding onto all this, and it’s just hurting me. God was so kind to me through that.”
Crawford is giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Thank God through a new episodic documentary series. The first episode is available now on YouTube, with new installments premiering every Monday leading up to the album’s release.
The artist reflected on how the reality that Christianity doesn’t eliminate pain, but it changes how suffering is understood, has always informed her music. While secular songs about tough issues like anxiety, grief or disappointment rarely provide answers or hope, Christian music offers something different.
“I was listening to this record. I can’t remember what it was; it was so good, but after talking about tough stuff, there was nothing. It made me sad. What I get to do as a Christian artist is so special because I get to say, actually, there is this hope,” Crawford said. “It might not make sense right now, or on this side of Heaven, but it’s going to make sense someday. God’s not going to waste this season, and you’re not alone in this.”
“We still experience such human things,” she said. “I’m not trying to make everything because you love Jesus. That’s just not the truth of it. We still go through all the things. But we’ve got Jesus, so there’s a lot of hope. He’s never left. He’s not going to leave, and that’s why I love Christian music.
Despite touring with artists including Michael W. Smith, Jeremy Camp, Zach Williams and Matt Maher, Crawford said there are still nights when anxiety, exhaustion or self-doubt threaten to overwhelm her before she walks onstage. Those moments, she said, often become the evenings she remembers most.
“The best shows we have are just when He’s leading,” she said. “When I don’t feel like I even have the strength … I have to surrender.”
Crawford reflected on the power of looking backward and reflecting on God’s faithfulness; she shared how she journals her prayers regularly, yet often forgets to revisit them until much later, when she discovers prayers she never noticed had been answered.
“I don’t always look back,” she said. “But then when I do, I’m like, ‘Oh my goodness, God answered this prayer,’ and I totally forgot about it because I’m just on to the next thing.'”
That same gratitude for God’s faithfulness, both in the good times and the bad, she said, is the key message of her latest album, one she hopes feels like a “hug” to everyone who listens.
“I don’t maybe understand all that He’s doing,” Crawford said. “I don’t have all the answers, but I can trust that He’s not going to waste this season. So thank You for saying no. Thank You for saying, ‘Not yet.’”
Thank Godis out July 24.
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]
