Justin Samarzia on the Making of “God Be Praised”

As Justin describes it, it became this thing inside of him and a building pressure that he needed to get the words out or he would explode.

What was a slow build for many years ignited with a flash finish. Rewind to 2014 when Justin started playing guitar and led worship at a local church. Playing guitar and singing profoundly transformed him. “It felt like it was something missing in my life, and I was unaware that it was really important to me until then,” said Justin. He moved from the head knowledge of believing God’s Word to an electrifying relationship with the Lord that drew him in deeper experiencing the presence of God supernaturally.

After years of being shaped as a worship leader, Justin entered a season of hardship that felt insurmountable. He stopped playing guitar, stopped worshiping, and stumbled into brokenness. “All that time I didn’t know who I was anymore. My world was changing so much, and I felt lost,” he said. He clung to God’s promises to move from broken to complete one day at a time.

Justin eventually picked up his guitar again, met his wife Katie, and married in April 2024. Shortly after he asked for a piano for his birthday. To which Katie said, “you’re funny—I’m not getting a piano. You don’t even know how to play!’”

Which was true at the time, but Justin kept dropping hints. Katie’s plan was to get him a shirt, shorts and cologne and call it good. But then Katie would hear these thoughts in her mind to buy a piano. Thoughts of absurdity and then insistence kept looping through her mind. She even asked her pastor how to know when the Lord was speaking to her and when it was her own thoughts.

“So, there I was two days before his birthday, crouching down inside our closet looking up keyboards on Amazon. I was woken up out of my sleep with the thought that ‘I have to get a piano.’

“I knew nothing about them. Which was the right one? There’re all these different keys,” Katie described. “I didn’t even know which one to get!” Then a thought landed, ‘you have to get this one.’ It was red and it was $4,000.

“I’m like, what? I can’t buy that! And the next thought is ‘no, you have to get it.’

“So that’s me, trying to be obedient and listening to the Lord, trusting that it’s the right one,” Kaite shared.

A Nord Stage 4 keyboard arrived, and Justin was like a kid in a candy store, smiling ear to ear. He started plunking at keys, learning to play on his own.

While the newness and excitement were there, at the same time a match was lit and the pressure started building inside of Justin to take his worship to the next level. “It built to this moment where it felt like a lid was about to go off and if it didn’t come out, I was going to die.”

The duo repurposed their office into a worship room. Justin would hear melodies or catch a verse in his head, and he started writing songs, composing on his keyboard while singing, and it eased the pressure. After writing the first two songs, a path was becoming clearer.

“I began to experience the presence of God, and when I worshiped with my own instruments, I would feel him in the room with us,” said Justin. “When we shared a few songs with our friends the same thing happened. It was like nothing else existed; the world faded away and the peace of God was there touching our friends as we were worshiping.”

The songs started pouring out fast. By the fourth song, Justin realized God was also speaking to Katie. They both received verses, impressions or ideas about the same topics, prompting them to collaborate on songwriting. Katie asked, “What is God telling you, what are you supposed to do with this music?”

“The impossible is a good place to start,” Justin said. They wrote two new songs in that same weekend—including the lead single and title track of the album, “God Be Praised.”

In December 2024 the Samarzia’s established Made New Productions, LLC to further their ministry to inspire, uplift, and share the message of faith through music.

From years of worshiping in a local church to stumbling through valleys to obeying God’s will as a new path was revealed—the Lord is still working on their journey. “God drew Katie and I together with each song. He was showing us what together looks like. We each have a part and when we do our part this beautiful thing can happen,” said Justin.