Honest worship starts exactly where your pain is.
Years of loss pushed the songwriter behind “You Are Holy” into a wilderness. Loved ones died, jobs and homes disappeared, health and finances faltered, and a church plant that failed. Most worship songs felt dishonest to him during that season, so the Psalms became his lifeline.
“You Are Holy” sits down beside you and tells the truth. “It’s hard to be patient with nothing but time.” “It’s hard to be hopeful when everything dies.” Have you ever whispered something like that? That’s okay, it’s what we do next that makes a difference! “Yet though I am suffering, I’ll trust in Your name.”
David faced that same kind of challenge in Psalm 13. He opens with “How long, O LORD?” and lands here: “But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” His circumstances barely moved between the first verse and verse five, but his gaze did.
You can do the same today. Be honest with God. Tell Him exactly how heavy everything feels, and skip the polish. He already knows what’s going on, but He wants to hear it from you. Also name what stays true about Him: holy, good, faithful, loving. Where else could you go? Honest prayer takes real strength, and you have it. You don’t need a victory to worship. You need a next breath and an open heart.
Press play, and let these words become your own. “For You are holy, You are good, You are faithful, You are love.”
(Related scripture: Psalm 13:5; Habakkuk 3:18; Lamentations 3:22-23)
Background:
You Are Holy really was birthed from a long wilderness season. My family seemed to be on a long downward spiral for years, losing loved ones, jobs, homes, physical health, finances, and seeing a church plant fail. It has been the hardest season of my life, and I really struggled to feel God’s love in all of it. I have always had a problem singing some worship songs because they didn’t feel honest to me. That is why I love the Psalms, because they are honest, but always come back to the foundation of who God is, which is what I wanted to say with You Are Holy. I wrote the song on piano and wrote the lyrics once I came up with a melody I liked.
Recording the song was really fun because it was our first song recording as a legit band, and so my first time working with drummer Evan Neel and bassist Ian Gallagher. Chelsea Neel did such an incredible job singing this song and her performance is my favorite part of the song.
Release date: November 6, 2026
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