Unlearning the Need to Impress God and Each Other: Rebecca St. James & Zahriya Zachary
Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith
Jesus Calling
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, we’ll hear from Rebecca St. James, a Grammy and Dove award-winning contemporary Christian music artist. When Rebecca’s family moved from Australia to the U.S. when Rebecca was a teen, they faced serious financial struggles—the kind that forced them to rely completely on each other and outside support for basic survival like food, transportation, and medical bills. This intense period of “making it work” became the bedrock of her career and is the focus of the film Unsung Hero.
Next, we meet Zahriya Zachary, an artist and worship leader with Bethel Music who experienced a major pivot in her early twenties. She shares how she shifted from the pursuit of a traditional career to an unexpected music career. Her story explores the struggle of unlearning the need for perfection and performance, and the profound freedom found in simply showing up as yourself.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Past interview: Darlene Zschech
Upcoming interview: Maria Lee
“You Make Everything Beautiful”
www.bethelmusic.com/roster/zahriya-zachar
Interview Quotes:
“[Hardship] really did encourage us to turn to God as a family, because we needed Him in a way that we had never needed Him so desperately before.” - Rebecca St. James
“My parents were definitely the kind that encouraged us to flourish in our own gifts. I think that they were very attentive to specialized giftings within the family and encouraged us to be unique.” - Rebecca St. James
“I remember my parents being very available for just talking things through, and that’s something that I’m also trying to do with our kids, [is to be] available and present.” - Rebecca St. James
“I think God’s design for the family is so beautiful, and I think when we can live that out privately in our lives, but then also if God allows us to to live that out in the public space too, there’s an undeniable loveliness to it.” - Rebecca St. James
“I think something that I am currently unlearning is my performance being the thing that makes God stay, and even that makes other people stay. I’m really unlearning that because it can tend to be this driving force of, If I do good enough at this, if I can just be perfect at this, then God will just stay. The Lord is revealing to me, ‘I love you because I love because I love you.’” - Zahriya Zachary
“I’ve had these moments throughout my life with God in the moments where I felt the most lost. He actually reveals to me a highlight reel of every place where I thought I was alone and every place where I thought He wasn’t. It’s actually given me strength to stay when it’s hard, because He enables me to remember.” - Zahriya Zachary
“It was never up to us to reach for God’s presence or earn it, because He’s already done it all.” - Zahriya Zachary
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel!
Audio Episodes: https://bit.ly/3zvjbK7
Bonus Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3vfLlGw
Jesus Listens: Stories of Prayer: https://bit.ly/3Sd0a6C
Peace for Everyday Life: https://bit.ly/3zzwFoj
Peace in Uncertain Times: https://bit.ly/3cHfB6u
What’s Good? https://bit.ly/3vc2cKj
Enneagram: https://bit.ly/3hzRCCY
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Life Audio |
| 0:03.6 | Join us in celebrating an incredible milestone as the beloved Jesus Calling brand reaches 50 million lives impacted. |
| 0:12.5 | As we honor the legacy of author Sarah Young, we reflect on the stories from celebrities, pastors, authors, actors, singers, athletes, scholars, and everyday people who have been |
| 0:22.9 | inspired by her devotional writings. To join in the celebration, and to hear some of the |
| 0:27.4 | stories of people whose faith journeys have been impacted by all the writings of Sarah Young, |
| 0:31.6 | head over to Jesus Calling.com. |
| 0:36.4 | I've been really doing music on and off my whole life and just being on a pretty amazing adventure with God. |
| 0:45.1 | You know, lots of highs, lots of lows, but just seeing him in my life leading me that whole time. |
| 0:51.6 | Welcome to the Jesus Calling podcast. |
| 0:53.9 | This week we'll hear from Rebecca St. James, |
| 0:56.0 | a Grammy and Dove Award-winning contemporary Christian music artist. When Rebecca's family moved |
| 1:00.7 | from Australia to the U.S. when Rebecca was a team, they faced serious financial struggles, |
| 1:05.2 | the kind that forced them to rely completely on each other and outside support for basic survival, |
| 1:10.7 | like food, transportation, |
| 1:12.2 | and medical bills. This intense period of making it work became the bedrock of her career |
| 1:16.8 | and is the focus of the film Unsung Hero. Next we meet Zaria Zachary, an artist and worship leader |
| 1:23.1 | with Bethel Music who experienced a major pivot in her early 20s. She shares how she shifted from the |
| 1:28.4 | pursuit of a traditional career to an unexpected music career. Her story explores the struggle |
| 1:33.5 | of unlearning the need for perfection and performance and the profound freedom found in simply |
| 1:38.4 | showing up as yourself. Let's begin with Rebecca Story. |
| 1:50.7 | My name is Rebecca St. James, and I was born Rebecca Jean, Smallburn. |
| 1:51.9 | I grew up in Australia. |
... |
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