How Zach Williams’ Past Impacts His Music: God ‘Can Redeem Any Situation’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Musician Zach Williams strayed from God early in his career, but he eventually learned that he was never too far gone for Christ.
“I realized when I gave my life to the Lord that He never left me,” Williams told The Alabama Baptist. “Even in my darkest moments He was always right there with me. I look back on my life and see how many times I was traveling down the wrong path and making wrong choices, yet God was still keeping me safe even when I thought I was too far gone.”
He shared with K-Love that he struggled with drugs and alcohol in college.
“I found myself partying every day, trying to outdo all the guys I lived with or hung out with,” he revealed. “Every day was just a competition to see who could party harder, and I carried that into my life for probably 13 years.”
He eventually joined a southern rock band and committed “110%” to the rocker lifestyle.
However, Williams left his band in 2017 to pursue Christian music and turn his career into something that glorified God. He decided to lean into his troubled past to encourage others with a similar story.
“Over the past few years, I’ve met all kinds of people who are dealing with addictions, cancer and other very serious situations,” he said. “These are the people I write songs for because I can relate to them.”
“We all have similar pasts and similar scars – I’m just and average guy who is struggling like everyone else,” Williams continued. “The folks coming to the shows don’t get a chance to share their own stories on a bigger stage, and I feel like it’s a huge opportunity for me to share songs that they can relate to and journeys they have walked through.”
“The message that I share with people is that it doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, God’s got a plan for you and He can turn things around, redeem any situation. No one is too far gone that the Savior can’t reach,” he added. “It’s about surrendering your life to Him, giving everything over to Him and realizing that you can’t handle things on your own strength.”
Since moving into the Christian music sphere, Williams has had some incredible opportunities, such as collaborating with Dolly Parton on a song and joining TobyMac and MercyMe on tour.
“Jesus has completely changed my life and I wouldn’t be here today without Him,” Williams said. “That’s where the songs are coming from, and I can’t help but share them with others because Jesus is my rescue story.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
Christian singer-songwriter Zach Williams recently shared his testimony of faith with actor Kirk Cameron on the latest episode of TAKEAWAYS.
The grammy-award-winning artist has the accolades to prove his talent as a musician and performer. However, he revealed that his first love was basketball.
“Music has always been in my upbringing I would say. My dad was a worship leader so I grew up in the church and I grew up around music, I just never had the desire to play an instrument until I couldn’t play sports,” he explained. “My dream was to play in the NBA.”
Williams said that he lived and breathed basketball until his senior year of high school when his prospects of playing at a higher level collapsed.
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