David Leonard Leans on Christ’s Strength, from ‘Great Are You Lord’ to ‘Just Jesus’
David Leonard's road to solo artistry is like few others.
He toured with NEEDTOBREATHE, playing keyboard. He formed half of the Christian duo All Sons & Daughters, co-writing the beloved praise song, Great Are You Lord. He helped some of CCM's top artists form major hits, collecting multiple GMA Dove Awards along the way.
Now a solo artist, Leonard has crafted his own impressive list of hits, including Good Lord and Every Hour.
His latest album is Just Jesus, which was released Feb. 21 and includes 12 tracks written over two years of personal trials. His faith grew during that time, he said.
"The last two years have been a whirlwind of events. I lost four grandparents. My kids have struggled with health stuff," Leonard told Crosswalk Headlines. "... It just felt like the world was punching me in the gut over and over again."
But "in the midst of all of this stuff," Leonard said, he clung to the promise that "the only thing that I need is Jesus." He leaned on the promises of Psalm 139, he said.
"We have the promise that God has promised to be with us in the highs and then the lows," he said. "And that's the stuff that I'm holding on to -- that when I feel like I'm by myself, that the Lord has promised to be with me through all of it. This record is kind of the culmination of all that stuff, and it turned into a beautiful movement of lyric and song.
"When you walk through things, you come out differently on the other side. I am a believer that the Lord allows us to go to the top of the mountaintop in order to see where we just came from. I don't think that we're supposed to live up there. I don't think that's the place where we stay. Because rarely have I ever been shaped by what happened on top of that mountaintop. It's been what happened in the valley. And I think He gives us these moments to take a breath and look and see where He's been with us and where He's taken us. I think all these songs are a direct reflection of that and how the Lord has brought me through it -- my recognition of His presence in the midst of all of it and my hope for days of better."
The mystery of God has been a hallmark of Leonard's career. A decade ago, he co-wrote a new worship song, Great Are You Lord, and went home that night, not thinking twice about its potential.
"I was like, 'I probably will never sing that song ever again,'" he said, remembering his thoughts that day.
At the time, Leonard was part of the worship duo All Sons & Daughters, penning songs for his church.
"We're just writing songs for our people," he said. "That was it. We weren't trying to be a band. We weren't trying to be anything other than a resource to our church. And then all of a sudden, the Lord started doing crazy things with these songs."
A 2023 survey listed Great Are You Lord as one of the 25 most popular worship songs of the decade. (The chorus proclaims, "It's Your breath in our lungs. So we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise.”)
"Never did in a million years did I ever think that that song was going to do what it did," he said.
When asked his thoughts on why the song grew in popularity, Leonard had no answers.
"I think it's the most beautiful gift that the Lord has given me, where it was something that I didn't think was going to be anything, and then all of a sudden, He made it something that I'm allowed to still do this stuff, even to today," Leonard said. "I still show up every day, just open-handedly going, 'God, I have no idea what I'm doing, but You can do anything with all this stuff.'"
Leonard's story, he said, should give people hope.
"Put your head down. Keep going. You never know what the Lord can do with any of these offerings that we have."
He says he never grows tired of hearing Great Are You Lord sung in churches.
"I've written enough songs that nobody cared about that when they actually care about one, you tend to hold it pretty close."
Photo Credit: ©Provident
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
Listen to Michael's Podcast! He is the host of Crosswalk Talk, a podcast where he talks with Christian movie stars, musicians, directors, and more. Hear how famous Christian figures keep their faith a priority in Hollywood and discover the best Christian movies, books, television, and other entertainment. You can find Crosswalk Talk on LifeAudio.com, or subscribe on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an interview that will be sure to encourage your faith.
Originally published February 21, 2025.
