Authentic Worship in a Busy World
Shifting Focus from People to God with Katy Nichole
Contemporary Christian artist Katy Nichole shared about the power of personal worship with Family Life Radio. She emphasized the importance of making music as a heartfelt worship to God.
Katy shared that her approach to songwriting has evolved significantly. Initially, she spent a lot of time in collaborative songwriting rooms, creating many amazing songs. However, she found a deeper connection with God when she began writing alone.
“When I really left it to Him, God just downloads something into my spirit, and it changed everything for me.” She described how sitting with her ukulele or piano in her bedroom, focused solely on praising God, brought a new level of intimacy and authenticity to her music.
This shift has affected the content of her songs as well as in the way she connects with her audience. “I just sit with the Lord in it, and I’m like, ‘God, I actually don’t care if a whole song comes out of today. I’m just here to be with you.’” These moments of genuine worship, free from the pressure of producing hit songs, have led to some of her most authentic and heartfelt music.
Katy believes that when she speaks to people on stage, it should come from a place of truth and personal experience, not just because it’s the right thing to say.
God desires authenticity in worship and life.
Katy also spoke candidly about times when she felt far from God. One significant period was at the end of 2022. Despite her profession of praising God, she felt a growing distance from Him.
“When you’re praising God for a living, which sounds so weird, you’d think you’d be really close to God in those moments. But I felt like over the course of the fall into the wintertime, I just kept getting further and further away from God.”
She realized that her job’s pressures and the need to present a certain image were pulling her away from genuine faith. Writing a deeply vulnerable, unreleased song became a turning point, helping her reconnect with God on a more profound level. “I wrote this song that is probably the most vulnerable I’ve ever been—and it’s not a release song—so I’m talking about something that hasn’t been put out into the world, but it’s a song where basically I sat down and I said out loud to the Lord ‘My God, I’m tired of trying to be okay.’”
Katy shared, “My job has made me think I have to put this mask on, and I have to be this person, and I always have to be on, and I have to do it a certain way. And there was a lot of pressure from the very start. And now I’ve just realized, like today, in the moment that we’re in right now—that is actually the opposite of what this is about. No one’s asking me to be perfect. Well, I can’t say that the internet is a mean place, but the expectation of being perfect is unrealistic.”
Her candid expression of her struggles marked a significant breakthrough in her faith journey.
It reminded her that God values her authenticity over perfection and external success.
“And so as long as I am striving to glorify God in everything that I do, that is the only thing that matters… If I’m doing what I know is serving the Lord obeying the Lord, and being faithful to the Lord, then I’m doing what I’m asked to do.”
She feels liberated her from the pressure of seeking external validation and it allows her to focus on glorifying God through her music and life. “If, when I leave this world, people don’t remember that Jesus was shining through me… then I’ve done everything wrong.”
Katy has found a sense of freedom and joy in her music and faith. She no longer feels the need to meet the expectations of others but instead focuses on her relationship with God. “I’ve kind of just realized the pressure is off because I get to worship Him.”
Perhaps Katy’s insights challenge us to evaluate our own pursuits and motivations. Are you seeking to please others, or are you striving to glorify God in all that you do? True fulfillment comes from aligning our actions with our faith and being authentic in our relationship with God.
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