Through her music and message Natasha Owens seeks to connect audiences to Christ as their source of security and strength during life’s darkest moments.
Following the tragic death of her father, Owens walked through a painful journey filled with sorrow and grief.
As she reflects back on that difficult season, Owens now realizes the great care and compassion that God provided in the midst of this journey. She also acknowledges that during her weakest moments, God powerfully took hold and never let go.
“After my dad passed away in a tragic gun accident five years ago, my strength started to decline and I began battling depression,” Owens said. “In the middle of this season of depression, my pastor asked me to lead worship for our congregation.
“I immediately told him: ‘I’m sorry, but you’ve got the wrong person. There are days where I can’t even make it out of bed in the morning. Right now I’m very angry at God so it would be hard for me to motivate people and tell them how great He is, when He’s not to me.’
“Even though I resisted and tried to decline the offer several times, my pastor kept coming back and saying that he truly believed that this was where God was directing. After a while I accepted the position but it still took me some time to dig out of that hole. Looking back I’m so grateful for the encouragement that was provided and the many ways that God was opening doors while also reminding me to keep pressing on and moving forward.”
With a renewed sense of purpose and by seeking God for the strength to face each day, Owens started investing her time and talents into leading worshippers to the throne of God.
“When I started, I was still at a place where I couldn’t even open my Bible,” Owens admitted. “Eventually I got to a place where I could start reading it again and got stronger. As I began concentrating on the songs that I had to work on for that week, I realized that I did have enough strength to get out of bed and get ready to face each day. It was a process, but God knew what I needed and this opportunity kept me from getting further away from Him.
“My pastor often told me: ‘Sometimes when you don’t have any strength to pour out, you will find that God gives you the strength you need to make it through each day and in return He also gives you healing.’”
‘Training ground’
When Owens began using music as an outlet to express her emotions, she also started receiving invitations to perform concerts and lead worship at ministry events.
“Leading worship for my church was the training ground for what I’m doing now,” Owens noted. “I remember praying one night and feeling like God was calling me to do something more and something different. The next day I received a text message from someone asking if I had ever thought about making a CD. That led to my first album being released. Since then, God has opened up so many doors.
“Being thrown into these opportunities can only come from God. My very first concert was performing with Michael W. Smith, and now my second album was produced by Ed Cash, who works with amazing artists like Chris Tomlin. It’s nothing that I have done on my own, and I certainly can’t take credit for anything. It’s just a testimony of God at work.”
Because of the authenticity and vulnerability in her original songs, she has heard from countless people about the impact of her powerful and poignant testimony.
“I am so humbled when I hear stories of how these songs are impacting people because I had really struggled for a long time,” Owens said. “During that period of grief I felt like I needed to act like everything was together on the outside, and I wanted to hide my broken pieces on the inside because I didn’t think anyone would want to hear about my struggles.
“I remember the first time that I actually smiled again after walking through that season. I remember being so thankful to God for pulling me through and restoring joy to my spirit. Right then I promised God that whatever doors He opened for me that I would be obedient to walk through them and follow Him. This incredible journey started soon after that, and God has allowed my testimony to help a lot of people going through similar struggles and trials.”
Owens recently released her second album, “No One But You,” which chronicles testimonies about God’s faithfulness during every season of life.
“My first project was about making it through a trial, and this project has a specific purpose that revolves around rising above,” Owens said. “Often people don’t make it through their trial because they choose to remain in a stage of anger or bitterness. Other times people make it through the trial, but they forget that it was God pulling them through and leading them out of the darkness and into the light.”
Purpose in life
“I really believe that our purpose in life is not only to make it through these tough seasons but to rise above the situation and help someone else. My goal for this project is to give strength to people who are struggling by offering encouragement from God’s Word and reminding them that God wants us to do more for His kingdom and to use our gifts for His glory.”
This fall Owens will perform on the Every Child is Beautiful Tour along with fellow musicians Mark Schultz, David Dunn, Kutless and Rush of Fools.
“When I hear stories about how my music and message is impacting people, it really makes an impact on me and gets me refocused, redirected and re-energized,” Owens said. “It reminds me that all of our temporary struggles and sacrifices are worth it, because if someone comes to know Jesus as a result and has the assurance of salvation that changes everything for eternity.”
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